Teen Titans: The Second Generation
by Aslan'sOnTheMove
Summary: Jump City has become the safest city in the country, so much so, the Titans were able to retire and start families. But when that peace and safety is disturbed, who will protect the city?
1. Prologue

A/N: This is the redone version of my Teen Titans second generation story. I don't own the Teen Titans. This takes place some time after season five when the Titans are well past teen years. Enjoy!

 **Teen Titans: The Next Generation**

 **Prologue**

The six Titans stood in the kitchen with looks of discouragement and sadness on their faces. For the past year the government had gone to great lengths to secure Jump City's prisons to keep the villains that constantly threatened the city from breaking out. With the crime rate at its lowest in Jump City's history, the heroes were no longer needed.

Robin had started to grow out his hair, was significantly more muscular, and was now taller than Starfire. The alien princess was still as lovely as ever, though her two shorter locks of hair were now a few inches longer than before. Cyborg was very much the same, though he did look a little older. Beast Boy had grown taller, slightly more muscular, and had a bit of chin stubble. Raven was still as dark, elegant, and "creepy" as ever. Terra had rejoined the team after the defeat of the Brother Hood of Evil and had started growing a figure.

"Seven years," Robin sighed. "It's been seven years since we started this team and protected this city. We had some good times, didn't we?" he asked his teammates.

The other Titans nodded in reply. They all looked down at the floor, not knowing what to say.

"You know, the Justice League Unlimited is always looking for new recruits," said Cyborg to break the silence, "y'all interested?"

"I'll have to pass," said Robin. "I'm used to fighting for one city at a time as long as it needs me. Taking missions around the world, never staying long in one place, it just isn't my style."

"I am sorry friend Cyborg, but I must also decline," said Starfire politely. Everyone knew she only said no to the offer was because Robin had said no.

"I may not be anywhere near the oldest one here, but I worked with the Doom Patrol for five years before I joined the Titans," said Beast Boy, his voice now deeper. "I'd like to try the civilian life for a while. I'm going to get into acting."

"Yeah, I'm liking the civilian life a lot more too," said Terra.

Cyborg looked at his last teammate, hope shining in his eyes.

"I'll pass," said Raven, making Cyborg droop.

There was another few minutes of silence before Robin looked at Beast Boy. "So, acting?"

"Yeah, I've seen people use real animals all the time in movies. I'm a movie all in one," said Beast Boy.

"Oh yeah, all green animals are so common in movies," said Raven sarcastically.

"It's called makeup," Beast Boy replied. He turned to the leader. "So, what are you going to do, Robin?"

"I got a job offer at the Jump City branch of Wayne Enterprises," the leader replied. "I plan to be working there... during the day." Everyone nodded, knowing Robin intended to patrol at night like his mentor Batman. "What about you guys?" he asked his teammates.

"I am currently enrolled in one of your planet's higher education facilities you refer to as college," said Starfire.

"I'm going to college to open my own restaurant," said Terra.

"I'll be around," said Raven

"I'm going to try to get a job at an auto body shop," said Cyborg. The others looked at him. "What? Just about everybody has a day job away from the JLU."

The Titans said very little as they packed their things. They refused to show how upset they were as they passed each other in the halls. Before they left, they agreed to stay in contact and hold on to their communicators.

Robin, or Dick Grayson, went to work at Wayne Enterprises where he worked his way up and eventually became the director of Wayne Enterprise's West Coast division. He took on the name Nightwing and continued to patrol Jump City to ensure the city's safety. Dick married his long time girlfriend, Kori Anders, or Starfire, and they celebrated with all their close friends and family. Kori Anders, went to college and became a photographer.

Cyborg, or Vic Stone, went to work at a small auto body shop just as he planned. When the shop owner retired, he left Vic in charge, seeing how dedicated he was to his work. Vic married a long term girlfriend, Sarah Simms who worked with children with artificial limbs.

Beast Boy, or Garfield Logan, went to Hollywood to become an actor. Ironically, he got his first big break playing a green alien dog on a new science fiction television series. Tara Markov went to college and continued to date Garfield until she graduated and married him.

Raven went on to work at Jump City University in the studies of ancient civilizations and languages. She married Terra's older half-brother Geo-Force and they adopted Melvin, Timmy, and Teether. Geo-Force became an ambassador for his homeland Markovia to build an alliance between his land and the United States.

The former Titans all stayed in contact as they moved on with their lives. Younger Teen Titan members soon took over the role of protecting the world so their older teammates could live their lives in peace and raise families. The world was still very dangerous, full of mysteries and, Jump City aside, under constant threat of supervillians. None of the Titans were aware of what awaited them, especially their descendants.

 **To be continued…**

A/N: So the Titans are grown up and living more normal lives. Hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it! Special thanks to Brother Bludgeon for all his help.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: I don't own the Teen Titans, just Kyle, Vanessa, Maxine, Valkin, and Azara. Mari belongs to DC Comics. Enjoy!

 **Teen Titans: The Next Generation**

 **Chapter One: Reunion**

 _Ten Years Later…_

It was an early morning in November and thirty-one year old Richard or "Dick" Grayson was driving his six-year-old daughter to school in his luxury sedan when one of the back tires went flat. He growled angrily and muttered several curse words as he checked the tire.

"Are we going to be late, Daddy?" asked his young daughter from the back seat. His daughter had light tan skin, black hair, and emerald green eyes. She wore a silver ring on her left index finger.

Richard smiled at his daughter from the car window, hiding his frustration. "No, Mari, we won't be late," replied Richard. He pulled out his cell phone about to call a tow-truck when he remembered there was an auto body shop nearby. He took his daughter out of her car seat and went inside. There was a tall, muscular African American man with a clean shaven head and grey eyes at the front desk. He also wore a silver ring on his left index finger.

The two men smiled at each other. "Hey, Richard, what brings you in here?" the man behind the desk asked.

"Hey, Vic. My car got a flat tire and I have to take Mari to school," replied Richard.

"Don't worry, man, we'll get you taken care of," said Vic. He turned to Mari. "Hey, little lady, give me five." Mari smiled as she gave him a high-five, but put a little too much force into the blow. Vic chuckled nervously. "She's got her momma's strength, huh?"

"Yeah, she does," said Richard as pet his daughter's head.

As Vic had the car pulled into the shop and fixed, the two men continued to talk. "We should all get together," Vic said. "We haven't had the team in one room since the Halloween party."

"That was only a week ago," Richard stated.

"Yeah, but I'm sure Mari wants to see her friends again, and Kori always loves get-togethers,"insisted Vic.

"You have a point," smiled Richard. "Okay, let's talk to Kori and Sarah and plan something."

And so the two men and their families started to plan the team get together. The gathering was set a week before Thanksgiving and was to be hosted at Richard and Kori's house. Richard and Kori lived in a nice house in the wealthier part of Jump City.

Richard now had much longer hair that he kept in a pony-tail and wore a dark grey sweater, black pants, and black shoes. For once he didn't hide his eyes with a mask or sunglasses so his sapphire eyes could be seen. Kori wore a green V-neck sweater that matched her eyes, an amethyst brooch, black skirt, and black flats. She held their two-year old son Robert in her arms. He had blue eyes like his father, golden-tanned skin, and red hair like his mother. The two-year-old wore a green shirt and black pants. Mari wore a purple dress with black leggings and black shoes.

Vic wore a light grey shirt with a black jacket over it, dark blue jeans, and black shoes. His wife Sarah wore her blonde hair in a pony-tail, a pink sweater, blue jeans, and black boots. They had their three-year-old daughter Maxine with them. She was the product of an experiment with television by the villain Control Freak that killed him. Vic and his wife adopted Maxine shortly after she was discovered by the police. Maxine had orange hair, freckles, grey-blue eyes, and a silver ring. She wore a green, long-sleeved shirt with a cat on it, a denim skirt, black leggings, and black shoes.

Garfield, now a bit more muscular and sporting a goatee, wore a maroon shirt under a faux leather black racing jacket, black pants, and black shoes. Tara, more curvy than she used to be, wore her old butterfly hair clip, a black turtle-neck sweater, a golden yellow skirt, and calf-length, black high-heeled boots. They had their four-year-old son Kyle and three-year-old daughter Vanessa with them. Kyle had blonde, spiked hair, green eyes, and wore hiking boots, olive drab cargo shorts, and a black T-shirt under a brown jacket. Vanessa had light skin and blonde hair. She wore a purple jumper over a black, long-sleeved shirt, black and purple striped socks, black shoes, and the same silver ring on her finger as the others.

Raven wore a blue turtle-neck sweater, a black skirt, and black boots with low heels. Geo-Force wore a red sweater with dark grey pants and black shoes. They had with them Melvin, Timmy, Teether, now called Tyler, and their twin four-year-olds Valkin and Azara. Melvin wore a white shirt with pink sleeves, denim jeans, and pink and white shoes. Timmy wore a yellow T-shirt over a red long-sleeved shirt, denim cargo pants, and black shoes. Teether wore a light blue T-shirt over a white long-sleeved shirt, black pants, and black shoes. Valkin had black hair, pale skin, and dark blue eyes. He wore yet another silver ring, royal blue, long-sleeved shirt, black denim jeans, and black shoes. Azara had orange hair, light tan skin, and purple eyes. She wore a purple, long-sleeved shirt, blue denim jeans, and purple shoes.

Once the families all entered the house and settled in, the adults removed silver rings that hid any unusual physical appearances. As they sat in the living room and Kori brought refreshments, Vanessa nuzzled her mother.

"Can we take off our rings now?" she asked.

Tara smiled and nodded. "Yes, it's okay."

"Yeah!" Vanessa exclaimed as she, Maxine, Mari, and Valkin took off their chrome rings to reveal their true selves.

Vanessa had green skin, pointed ears, a fang sticking out of her mouth. Maxine had glowing eyes that resembled the flickering grey screen of a television. Mari had green eyes and golden skin like her mother. Valkin had pale skin and a chakra gemstone over the on his forehead like his mother.

The silver rings that the children and some of the adults wore were cloaking rings. Cyborg had made them so that they could disguise themselves to look like normal people and live normal lives.

As Kori set down a tray of turkey and vegan-friendly sandwiches on the coffee table, Mari tapped her arm. "Mommy, may we go outside and play, please?"

"Of course, my little bumgorf," Kori smiled sweetly. "Just stay safe and don't let anyone see you or your powers."

"Yay! Let's go outside," she exclaimed to her friends as they followed her to the backyard.

Kori turned to Melvin. "Melvin, sweetie, could you please watch the children?"

"Sure thing, Mrs. Grayson," said Melvin. "Bobby's been wanting some company."

"Tyler and I are coming with you," Timmy informed his sister. "Not to baby-sit, but to keep Bobby company."

"Looks like Mari is the leader of the group," Gar said as he nudged Richard. "I wonder where she gets that from."

Richard grinned sheepishly and decided to change the topic as he grabbed a sandwich. "So how's the acting career coming?" he asked the changeling.

Gar grinned proudly. "It's going great. We got guaranteed five more seasons."

"Awesome, B. Maxine loves that show," said Vic.

"Dude, she's only three. Why are you letting her watch that show?" Gar asked.

"You know why," Vic said, with a slight edge to his voice.

"Oh, heh, right..." Gar raised his hands in mock surrender. "Forgot about that."

"It's fine. She likes to watch the show with us and see you on television, anyway," said Vic with a shrug. He turned to Tara. "So Tara, how's the Rock Solid Cafe doing?"

"It's going great," said Tara. "Is the T-Car still holding up?"

"She's had to have a few repairs, but she's still going strong," said Vic.

"And what's new with Wayne Enterprises?" Raven asked Richard.

"It's doing great, our Applied Sciences division is working on reverse-engineering tech that the JLU confiscates from the bad guys. We're going to turn their plots and schemes into the next generation of household appliances." Richard replied. "How are your students liking your class this semester?"

"They're not," Raven replied. "Unless they're prepared to actually do all the reading. Then they say it's the best one on campus."

"So how's the League doing, Tin Man?" Richard asked Vic.

"Like you don't know, Bird Boy," Vic shot back with a smile.

Tara kept looking towards the backyard where the kids were playing. Gar put his arm around his wife's shoulder. "Don't worry, babe. Everything's fine!"

She still looked uneasy. "I don't know if everything's fine, Gar. We still have no leads on Slade." The others looked concerned as well.

"We haven't seen him since our last battle before the new prison was built," Richard pointed out. "It's been years now."

"But we never found a body or any clue as to where he could be hiding," Tara replied. "He could still be out there and that frightens me."

Brion reached over and put and squeezed his sister's hand. "I know you're worried that Slade is still out there, but you can't let that fear control your life."

"Brion's right, and this is ME saying that, former Slade-obsessed vigilante," said Richard, nodding. "If he does show up, we'll send him straight to prison where we'll never see him again."

Tara nodded. "You guys are right." She took a bite of a turkey sandwich. "Kori, this is great!"

As the adults continued their conversations, the children laughed and played with the various toys that laid on the grass. Melvin's giant teddy-bear friend Bobby grinned as the children played around him. Melvin kept a watchful eye on the children to make sure they didn't use their powers to the extent that neighbors would notice.

Mari picked up a Frisbee and threw it as Vanessa turned into a green dog and ran after it. A yellow aura surrounded several small rocks as Kyle and Azara built a rock tower. Timmy and Tyler sat contently in Bobby's arms. Valkin was sitting next to Bobby when he noticed Maxine playing with a dandelion flower in the corner of the backyard. Valkin was the most reserved because he had his mother's powers, but that never stopped him from interacting with his friends. He walked up to Maxine and offered her his hand as she took it and the two went to join the others.

As the children played in the backyard, a drone with a camera flew over them and watched as they laughed and played without a care in the world. The drone taped their activities for several minutes before Bobby noticed it and swatted at it like a bug, but the drone dodged his attack and flew away.

"What is it, Bobby?" Melvin asked with concern. Bobby let out a groan. "It was probably some neighbor's toy or something," she assured him. Bobby continued to glare at the sky where they drone had been.

The drone flew over suburbs, streets, and buildings. Not one person noticed that the drone existed. At last, the drone arrived at an abandoned warehouse where a scanner ran a red light over it and a small slot door opened. The drone flew through many halls before it landed into the hands of a short, bald man. He wore a green lab coat and goggles on his head. The man took the drone to a computer where he plugged a cable into the drone and the other end into the computer. A download progress bar reached 100 percent and then a screen popped up. The man began to watch the video the drone had recorded until he came across the footage of the Titans' children playing. He grinned widely as his fingers typed vigorously and he plugged a flash drive into the computer. After a few minutes, he unplugged the flash drive and left the room.

The short man walked briskly down several halls before he came to a door with a golden name plate. He knocked on the door and a woman's voice told him to enter. In the room, the silhouette of a woman sat in a chair behind a desk. He held the flash drive in front of her. "My queen, I think you'll be pleased with this." She handed him a laptop where he plugged in the flash drive, found the file he was looking for, and turned the computer to the woman. She hit the play button and watched the video. Her dark red lips curled up into a smile as she watched the children playing.

"Excellent work, Gizmo. You found the Teen Titans' children. Now, all we have to do is wait."

 **To be continued…**

A/N: Special thanks to Brother Bludgeon for helping me with this story and being a co-writer. And special thanks to anyone who reads this story!


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: I don't own the Teen Titans or Mari. I only own Robert, Kyle, Vanessa, Maxine, Valkin, and Azara. Enjoy!

 **Teen Titans: The Next Generation**

 **Chapter Two: When There's Trouble, Who Do You Call?**

Another Ten Years Later…

It was a Saturday in early May in Jump City and a camera crew set up their equipment behind a large group of news reporters, journalists, and photographers that stood in front of a small stage which was in front of a large building. On the stage, behind a podium stood a balding, overweight man with white hair. He wore a dark grey suit with a blue tie and handkerchief. Next to him stood a man with pepper-grey hair with a black suit and a red tie. The two men were guarded by six men in black suits and sunglasses and several police officers.

Once the camera crew were finished setting up their equipment, they gave the thumbs up to the men on the stage and a blonde woman in a red suit who stood in front of the camera and held up a microphone.

"And now, we take you to the mayor of Jump City as he makes his speech," said the woman in red.

"People of Jump City, today we celebrate twenty years of being the safest city in the country." He smiled proudly as the large crowd applauded. "And we owe that to the Mega-Security Prison and its warden Mr. Edmund Vicars." The people applauded again.

At the Grayson household, fifteen-year-old Mari Grayson and her twelve-year-old brother Robert, fifteen-year-old Kyle and thirteen-year-old Vanessa Logan, thirteen-year-old Maxine, and fifteen-year-olds Valkin and Azara Markov all sat in the living room as they watched the broadcast of the event for school assignments while their parents were all at work.

"The mayor should be thanking our parents," said Maxine with a frown. "They're the ones who fought the bad guys before the jail got built."

"The jail is what kept them from breaking out so our parents could have normal lives," Valkin reminded her.

When the Mega-Security Prison was built, Jump City no longer needed their heroes to protect them. The Justice League even worked with the justice system in Jump City to put many criminals they had fought put behind bars. As time went by, villains around the world wrote Jump City off as a forbidden zone so nobody dared commit a crime, unless they wanted to end up in jail and face harsher sentences. Other former Teen Titans around the world had children who had to learn to fight crime because their cities weren't as safe as Jump City had become.

"Thanks to Warden Vicars and this prison, we've been able to contain super villains that normally broke out," said the mayor. "Fortunately, we were able to rehabilitate lesser villains Nigel St. Hubbins, formerly known as Punk Rocket, and John Rollins, who had legally changed his name from Johnny Rancid. Neither had so much as gotten a parking ticket or littering fine since their release. Criminals such as Mad Mod and "The Amazing Mumbo" have died in the prison due to old age. This is how super criminals must be dealt with: either they change their ways and become responsible and productive members of society, or die in prison. Are there any questions?"

"Mr. Mayor, is it true that you plan to demolish Titans Tower next year, due to

its recent drop in popularity among the tourists?" a reporter asked.

The mayor adjusted his tie as people murmured about the question. "Whatever rumor's you've heard, Jump City has no intention of tearing down ANY of our beloved landmarks, let me set the record straight about that right now! The Tower may not be home to active duty heroes, but as a symbol, it still stands for dedication to justice and peace."

"I completely agree with you, Mr. Mayor," said Warden Vicars. "We must never forget our history. Titans Towers represents a time that this city should feel proud to have survived. Just like the Mega-Security Prison stands as the new symbol of peace and justice in this city."

On a nearby rooftop, a group of five teen watched the broadcast. One of them grinned wickedly. "This is the moment we've been training for. Beginning Phase One!" The others grinned as well.

The five teenagers jumped from the sky and landed several feet from the camera crew and the impact of their landing cracked the cement. The people screamed and chattered as they stared at the teenagers.

There was a large, muscular girl with wild brown hair and green eyes. She had an orange leotard with a large yellow "M" on her chest, orange gloves with yellow armored bands on her forearms, and matching boots. Next to the large girl was a slim boy with a gothic hair cut and plugs. He wore a red, sleeveless hooded shirt with a shredded look, black pants, and gothic black boots. In front of the gothic boy was a short girl with blonde hair in pig tails, squinted eyes, goggles, and a green and black cyber-themed outfit. She had a metal pack on her back with four spider-like legs that came out of the pack and kept her suspended from the ground. Behind them was a blond boy who wore a red and black mask, a red jumpsuit with a multiple sign on his chest, and black gloves and boots. Beside the blond boy was a male teen with large, black wings. He had red eyes under a pointed, grey mask, a dark red top, and dark blue pants, and black gloves and boots.

"Who are you?" the mayor demanded.

"We are the new face of the HIVE! For twenty years you've kept criminals in that prison with no hope of seeing the outside world again!" the gothic boy yelled as he pointed to the mayor. "We're going to turn it to rubble!" The mayor cowered behind the warden and his security as the teens rushed toward the stage.

The police stood their ground as the teenagers charged toward them. "Freeze!" They pulled out their T.A.S.E.R. and pointed them at the attackers.

"Nyte Flyer, to the skies!" the gothic boy ordered. His teammate nodded and used his large wings to lift himself into the air.

When the villains were several feet from the police, the muscular girl smashed her fist into the ground, causing it to shake and the police to lose their balance.

"Good job, Monumenta!" smirked the gothic boy.

The blond boy multiplied and the clones protected the teens from being shocked by the T.A.S.E.R.s, allowing them to move forward.

"Nice meat shielding, Various!" the gothic boy called to his teammate.

"We ain't gettin' paid near enough for this, Benny." one of the clones said to another, a southern twang in his voice.

"We ain't gettin' paid at all, Benny," the other replied, glumly.

A red glow came from the Goth boy's hands as the police put up their shields. He shot the red energy at the shields as they became rubber and he turned to the short girl. "Gadget, get ready to fly and blast these pigs!"

"You've got it, Glint!" she replied as her spider legs retracted and metal wings and a laser gun came out.

The sudden attack shocked Mari and her friends and it made things worse to know their parents wouldn't be able to react quickly enough to stop the villains.

"We need to do something," said Mari with determination in her voice.

"Something tells me we're going to get directly involved in this," said Valkin in a monotone.

"Do we really need to get involved?" Azara asked nervously. "There's other heroes out there that can fight them."

"By the time they get to the scene, it'll be too late," said Mari."

"Not if they teleport!" Azara argued. "You know, like the Justice League does all the time to get from the Watchtower to Earth?"

"Can I help?" asked Robert with excitement.

"No. You need to stay here. Mom and Dad wouldn't want you to get involved," insisted Mari.

"None of our parents would want any of usto get involved," said Valkin. Mari shot him a glare. "I never said I wasn't going, just pointing out the obvious."

"Well **I'm** saying I'm not going," said Azara. "Somebody has to watch Robert."

Valkin teleported his friends to each of their homes where they found their parents' old uniforms. Mari put on her mother's old uniform and one of her father's old utility belts. Vanessa put on her father's old leotard, gloves, and shoes as well as a maroon skirt. Kyle put on hiking boots, tan cargo shorts, a camouflage shirt, and his mother's old gloves. Valkin wore his mother's old cloak, a long-sleeved black shirt, and black pants. Maxine wore an identical version of what Control Freak wore. Once they were dressed, Valkin teleported them to a rooftop.

"Maxine... what are you wearing?" Mari asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"What? I thought it'd be fitting," said Maxine.

Mari shook her head, deciding not to bother arguing the issue. "We need code names so they can't identify us. I'm choosing Nightstar for myself."

"Pretty!" exclaimed Maxine. "I'm Channeler! Because I can channel electricity. And because I'm half TV and TVs have channels. Aaaand because it's all cool and mystical sounding. **And** -"

"Falcon," said Valkin in a monotone, putting a hand over Channeler's mouth.

"I'm Beast Girl!" Vanessa announced. She turned to her brother. "You're Burrower."

"I'm- Wait, what?" Kyle started, then turned to stare at the green girl.

"You're Burrower, that's your superhero name," explained the newly named Beast Girl.

"No. Ohhh, no! You don't get to name me like I'm one of your animal forms, Vanessa!" he groused. "What about Geo-Dude, or Stone, or..." Kyle argued.

"Nope. I'm Beast Girl. You're Burrower. End of discussion," said Vanessa.

"Come **on** ," said Mari. "We need to stop the bad guys."

The five friends flew to where the attack was happening and Nightstar shot a starbolt to get their attention.

"Who're these rodeo clowns?" asked Benny Various.

"They're the Teen Titans, you snot-brained hick!" snapped Gadget.

"They won't be for long. HIVE Five, eat them alive!" exclaimed Glint.

"Titans, go!" Nightstar exclaimed in reply.

As the injured police were pulled away from the fight, the HIVE turned to fight the Titans.

"Monumenta will crush you like a bug," the large girl sneered at Beast Girl as she punched her fists for emphasis.

Beast Girl smirked confidently. "You may be big, but I can get bigger!" She turned into a T-Rex and roared before she smacked the girl with her tail. Monumenta went flying and hit a nearby building.

"Vanes-Beast Girl, be careful. We don't want to cause too much damage," warned Nightstar.

"How am I supposed to fight when I control earth?" asked Burrower. He was fighting off several Bennys. "It'd make things a lot easier."

"Burrowrr," Nightstar said, slipping on the complicated name as she fought Nyte Flyer, "we can't cause more damage than the HIVE already has." Gadget hit her in the back with her laser gun.

"Sorry, Star, but I'm using earth." said Burrower. He summoned chunks of earth and threw them at the Benny clones.

Monumenta came charging and punched her in the back and she hit a car. "Now you're in for it!" Nightstar shouted as she shot starbolts and various explosives at Monumenta and Nyte Flyer.

Benny Various kept multiplying, using his clones to fight off Channerler, Burrower, and Gaia.

Beast Girl turned into a raptor and tried to snap at Gadget, but the girl flew out of reach and stuck her tongue out at her. The shape shifter turned into a T-Rex again and tore off one of the metal wings as Gadget shot a laser at her before she had her mechanical spider legs reemerge.

"Don't you touch my sister!" Burrower growled. He was about to summon more asphalt when Glint punched him.

As Nightstar fought off Monumenta and Nyte Flyer, Burrower did his best to block attacks from Glint. The geomancer summoned asphalt to block the attacks, but Glint kept using his transmuting powers to change the asphalt into other elements. Glint was suddenly caught off guard by Beast Girl in her goat form as she rammed into him.

Just then, Channeler touched one of the mechanical legs from Gadget's backpack with her index finger, her hand charged with electricity. "Touch!" The equipment short-circuited and Gadget went flying into the air as she cursed like a sailor. "Boo-yah! Payback, dude!"

Glint growled as he watched Gadget spinning out of control. "Nyte Flyer, get us out of here!" The winged villain nodded and engulfed each teammate in his wings, teleporting them away before he teleported himself.

"They're gone!" exclaimed Beast Girl, her hands balled into fists.

"We'll find them," Nightstar assured her friends. "But at least the mayor is safe and the prison hasn't been touched."

"I think we did pretty good for our first try," said Channeler. A chunk of rubble fell from a nearby building.

The press began to surround the teens as they bombarded them with questions and flashing cameras. All of a sudden, Nightwing and Raven appeared from Raven's energy as they stood in front of the teenagers.

"Daddy, what are you doing here?" Nightstar asked her father.

"Raven, get us out of here," Nightwing ordered. Raven nodded and formed an orb of dark energy over the group that teleported them away.

They reemerged in the main room of Titans Tower where Raven had her magic vanish. Channeler shivered and squirmed. "I'm never gonna be used to that."

The teens turned to see the rest of their parents. They all had concerned and unhappy looks on their faces.

"What did you think you were doing?!" exclaimed Terra as she and Changeling hugged their children. "You could have been hurt!"

"We couldn't just let them hurt the mayor or wreck the prison," protested Vanessa.

"Besides, the HIVE might attack again," Mari insisted. "And who knows how many other members they have?"

The parents looked at each other with concern. They didn't want their children to have to fight, but they also had lives to live and didn't want the peace of their city to be jeopardized.

"Yeah! Let's go kick some more butt!" exclaimed Maxine.

"Absolutely not!" exclaimed Cyborg. "Y'all have no experience. Terra's right. You're lucky they didn't hurt you or worse."

"What's the point of having powers if we don't use them?" Kyle asked.

Raven looked at her nephew. "Azara has more trouble with her powers than Terra and me combined. You know we've taught her to not use her powers so she won't hurt herself or anyone else."

"But Mari's right," said Vanessa. "The HIVE could attack again and we don't know how many members they have now."

Mari smiled at her father. "Once the HIVE is found and the villains are brought to justice, we can all go back to our normal lives."

"We've never trained you for combat," Nightwing reminded her. "And you still have school."

"Summer's coming soon," Mari reminded him. "You can train us on the weekends and during the summer.

The parents looked at each other once again before Nightwing let out a sigh. "All right. As of right now, you're Teen Titans."

"We'd better go tell the mayor," said Cyborg.

"You go talk to him," Raven told him. She turned to the teens. "We need to get them new uniforms. And put all of ours in a vault."

That evening, the mayor made another broadcast. The new Teen Titans stood next to him while the warden of the Mega-Security Prison stood nearby. "Citizens of Jump City, though the criminals have not been apprehended, I assure you that we will find them and we will bring them to justice! Until such time that we find the HIVE organization and shut it down, a new group of teenagers will work as active duty Teen Titans. I give you, Nightstar, Falcon, Burrower, Beast Girl, and Channeler!"

Nightstar wore the same outfit her mother used to wear though she added the same kind of sleeve armor her mother had worn when she first came to Earth, a cape, and a utility belt.

Beast Girl wore a female Doom Patrol member's uniform with shoes and gloves just like her father's.

Burrower wore a tan, long-sleeved top with a light brown "V" pattern on the chest and a "T" inside a circle for "Titan". He had light brown cargo shorts, hiking boots, and light tan gloves with rolled up sleeves.

Channeler had a white, "V" neck leotard, white, calf-length boots, and television wires wrapped around her chest in a X pattern, around her waist, . Television wires were wrapped around the waist, V, wrists, pig tails, and leg openings of her boots.

Falcon wore a blue cloak similar his mother's, blue arm warmers with red gems, a black unitard with short sleeves, and a gold belt with a matching red gem.

Photographers took pictures of the mayor shaking hands with each the heroes as he thanked them for their service. The warden did his best to get into the pictures as well.

"Your parents brought in some of the first few criminal to enter the Mega-Security Prison," the warden told Nightstar with a confident grin. "I'm sure you'll find those criminals and bring them through our doors very soon."

As the city cleaned up the damage done by the HIVE students, the five teenagers continued to go to school. Once the weekend came, their parents took them back to the Tower to choose rooms for themselves whenever they would have sleep-overs.

Cyborg had updated the systems and fixed any damage that had come to the Tower due to old age. The teens stood in awe at the updated Tower. "Each of you will pick the room you want and decorate it the way you want," said Nightwing. They grinned with excitement as they ran down the halls to investigate each room.

Mari chose Starfire's old room to be hers. She kept everything pretty much the same as Starfire had once had it, but added white dresser with a mirror, a few pictures, and put up black curtains. Once she was finished, Mari stood back to admire her work. "Perfect."

Vanessa chose Beast Boy's old room and had the wall with the closet painted black and the wall with the window painted maroon. She put up a few animal posters and put in a black dresser. Vanessa also decided to keep the bunk bed in case a friend wanted to spend the night. She also chose maroon sheets and pillow cases and a black comforter. The young changeling stood back to admire the room once it was finished. "Perfect," she smiled proudly.

Kyle picked Terra's old room and painted coyotes howling and birds flying in the scenery painted on the walls. He added a low-standing bookshelf where he put his books, music, boom box, and cherished trinkets. When he looked over the room, he smiled. "Perfect."

Maxine chose Robin's old room and put up as many movie posters and cardboard cut-outs of movie stars as possible. Then she took her Clash of the Planets sheets from her house and put them on Robin's old bed. She decided to turn Cyborg's old room into a computer room for the Titans to use for homework and social media. "Perfect!" she exclaimed.

Valkin decided to take Raven's old room and painted the walls royal blue and put up black curtains. He put all of his books from home, plus a few his mother had given him, on the shelves. For the bed, he got black sheets and a royal blue comforter. He looked the room over once it was finished and shrugged. "No one in their right mind would ever want to spend any time in this room," he said in a monotone. "Perfect."

Cyborg made a second bathroom out of one of the spare bedrooms for he remembered the trouble of five to six teenagers sharing a bathroom many years ago. The parents later went shopping for food so that they knew their children would eat while they did their homework and trained.

Once again the Titans Tower glowed at night to send a signal to the citizens of Jump City that they were under the protection of the Teen Titans. The children knew they had a long way to go before they would become legends like their parents, but the excitement of continuing their parents' legacy was hard to contain. They stood proudly in the main room as they watched the city beyond the bay. The Teen Titans were back.

In a large room, a single light hung in the center. The five HIVE teens, though bruised and sore, stood like soldiers until they heard footsteps. They bowed as a woman with dark skin, long, black hair, and dark blue-grey eyes came into the light. She wore a black and yellow uniform and a golden diadem on her forehead. The woman was accompanied by a younger woman with a slightly lighter skin tone, green-blue eyes, and the same uniform.

"You've done well, my students. Not only were you able to scare the public, but you were able to escape. You have proven yourself ready for the next phase of your training."

"Thank you, our queen," the group said in unison.

 **To be continued…**

A/N: Special thanks to Brother Bludgeon for all his help and support. I truly appreciate it. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: I don't own the original Teen Titans or Nightstar. Enjoy the story!

 **Teen Titans: The Second Generation**

 **Chapter Three: Ladies and Gentlemen, Hallie Kazam!**

Summer seemed to be crawling its way as the new heroes adjusted to their new daily routine. Every weekday, the six friends would go to school, walk home together, and work on homework. Once they finished their homework, the five heroes would train at Titans Tower for an hour before they would return home for the night. During the weekend, they would finish any homework they had left, train, and patrol the city to search for the HIVE before returning to their homes.

"You'd think they'd lighten up on the homework as we get closer to summer," said Azara one Friday as they walked home. "Kind of like how they go easy on us when we first start in the fall."

"They want to make us suffer as long as possible," said Valkin in a monotone.

"At least we don't have summer school," said Vanessa. She shivered at the thought.

The six teenagers headed to the Grayson home to do their homework. Once they finished, the new Titans went to the Tower, changed into their uniforms, and went on patrol. Burrower had found a small boulder that he could use to ride while the team patrolled the city. The team split up to search for the HIVE students and their new hide out.

As Burrower went about his patrol, he noticed a teenaged girl performing magic on the sidewalk. She had medium-length blue hair, a white suit and bow tie with a red shirt underneath, a red skirt, white pumps, a white top hat with a red band, and a red mask that covered her eyes. The girl had a backpack behind her and a small table in front of her with a jar that said "Tips". Burrower pulled out his communicator to talk to his teammates.

"Hey, there's a teenaged girl doing magic on the sidewalk. I'm going to keep my eye on her," Burrower informed them.

"What kind of magic," Falcon askd. "Pentagrams, human sacrifices, card tricks, what?"

"Mostly the last one," Burrower admitted. "But... she might be doing them without a permit?"

"He thinks she's cute," Beast Girl explained, matter-of-factly.

"Call us if anything happens," Nightstar told him. "Like any ACTUAL crime."

Burrower stood on the rooftop as he watched the girl perform. She took her top hat and showed everyone that it was empty, then she set it on the table and tapped it with her wand before she reached inside and pulled out a rabbit. The people applauded as she put the rabbit back in the hat. "Hocus Pocus!" she tapped her hat with her wand again and a hundred doves flew out. The people cheered and placed some change into the jar. All of a sudden, a police car rolled up and parked next to the sidewalk. A police officer got out of the car and approached the girl.

"Uh oh, looks like trouble," Burrower said as he used his bolder to lower himself to the ground.

"Excuse me, miss, you're going to need to leave. No busking on this sidewalk." the officer told her, then sighed as she looked at him in confusion. "It means street performing."

The girl became concerned. "But I see people play instruments for money all the time."

"That's before they get caught," the officer informed her. Before he could say another word, Burrower stepped in front of him.

"Hi there! Burrower of the Teen Titan, nice to meet ya. My team and I are currently running an investigation looking for a group called the HIVE."

"Never heard of them," said the officer. His face clearly showed that he didn't want a teenaged super hero getting involved with police business.

"Listen, Officer..." Burrower began before he looked at the police man's name tag, "MacKenzie. Why don't you let me handle this and I'll make sure she doesn't do this again." The officer shook his head as he returned to his car. Burrower turned the the people who had been watching the magic show. "All right, people, move along. Show's over. Nothing to see here." The people groaned and muttered as they walked away.

When Burrower turned to the girl, she still looked nervous as if she was expecting to be arrested. "So, what are you going to do?" she asked.

"Just gotta ask you some questions," said Burrower. "Do you know anything about the HIVE?"

"I know they tried to attack the mayor a few weeks ago and they were enemies of the original Titans," the girl replied.

"What's your name?" Burrower asked.

"Hallie Kazam," she replied. "That's my stage name, anyway."

"How long have you been performing magic for the public?" Burrower asked.

"Roughly a year," said Hallie Kazam with a shrug.

"So why are you performing magic on the sidewalk?" he asked.

"I thought you'd never ask," Hallie replied. Burrower's eyes widened with confusion. "I want to be a Teen Titan."

Burrower raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why...?" he started to ask her why she thought that doing street magic for tips would ever get her into the Teen Titans, but then he noticed the cute way her nose crinkled when she smiled and he had to shake his head to gather his thoughts. "Uh, why do you want to join the Titans?"

"Do you know about the Amazing Mumbo?" Hallie asked.

"The crazy, blue-skinned magician who fought the first Teen Titans and died in prison?" Burrower asked.

Hallie didn't look too happy at how he described his recollection of the deceased villain. "He was my grandfather."

Burrower pulled out his communicator to contact his teammates. "Guys, meet me on the rooftop at the corner of Walch and Menville." He helped Hallie pack up her equipment and offered her his hand to help her onto the boulder. "Hold on, we're going up." Hallie wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and he let out a cough. He slowly levitated the boulder up to the roof of a nearby building. "I take it you're not a fan of heights," Burrower commented as they got to the top.

Hallie had her eyes shut tight as she shook her head no. "Nope!"

When they landed on the rooftop, Burrower turned to Hallie. "We're here. You can let go now."

Hallie blushed as she let go. "Sorry."

A few minutes later the rest of the Titans joined Burrower and Hallie on the rooftop. "Guys, this is Hallie Kazam. She says she's Mumbo's granddaughter and she wants to be a Teen Titan. Hallie, this is Nightstar, Falcon, Channeler, and my sister Beast Girl."

Hallie smiled timidly as she waved hello. "Nice to meet you guys."

Nightstar was the first to approach her. "So, you're Mumbo's granddaughter?" Hallie nodded in reply. "Why would you want to become a Titan?"

"Everybody, even my parents, say Mumbo was just a crazy man obsessed with getting rich," Hallie explained. "But that's not what he was like at first."

"How do you know that?" Nightstar asked.

"Ever since I was little, my family would visit my grandpa in jail. My grandma wanted us to have some kind of relationship with him. Whenever we would visit, he would always show me a magic trick and it helped us create a bond. After he died, he left me his hat and wand. My parents didn't want me to become a criminal like him, so they threw the hat and wand in the trash. After they went to bed, I dug them out and for the next two weeks I tried to get them to work. When I finally did, I found his diary inside."

"Ooh! What did it say?" Channeler asked excitedly. She sat on Burrower's bolder like a child about to be read a story.

"He loved magic ever since he was a kid," Hallie continued, "but he could never get enough support or make enough money to make it a career. He ended up having to take jobs he didn't want so he could support his family. At first, when he found the hat and wand, he tried to make extra money doing what he loved, but it was never enough. Eventually, he started committing crimes to the point my grandma divorced him and my mom changed her last name to my grandma's maiden name. I don't want people to just remember my grandpa for being a crazy magician. I want people to know my grandpa wasn't all bad and that his descendants won't follow in his footsteps."

The Titans looked at each other and huddled in a circle as they whispered amongst themselves. When they finished talking, Nightstar pulled out her communicator. "Hey, Dad, could you come visit the Tower after work? We have a new recruit."

"Sure thing, sweetie," said Richard.

Great! See you then!" She turned to the others. "Let's head to the Tower."

"Do we have to fly?" Hallie asked nervously.

"Hey, don't worry!" exclaimed Channeler as Beast Girl turned into a pterodactyl. "Flying is fun!" She hopped onto the changeling's back and looked at Hallie, waiting for her to climb on.

"Don't worry," said Burrower with a reassuring smile. "It'll be okay." He offered her his hand and she jumped onto his bolder.

They made their way to Titan's Tower and landed on the shore as Hallie stared in amazement at the building.

"So, do you have any combat experience?" Nightstar asked. This broke Hallie's gaze on the tower.

"Well, I've been taking martial arts classes every summer for the past three years," said Hallie.

Nightstar nodded in approval. "That's a good start. We're going to have you train for a few weeks before we have you come along on a mission.

"So does this mean I'm a Titan?" Hallie asked.

"Not yet," said Nightstar. "First you have to meet my dad."

A few hours later Nightwing arrived at the Tower. "You must be the new recruit." he said to Hallie.

"Y-yes, sir," said Hallie nervously.

"Follow me, please." Nightwing replied.

Hallie looked back at the team and they nodded, signaling that it was okay. Nightwing led her down the hall to the interrogation room. He had her sit in a chair and hooked her up to a lie detector machine.

"What's this for?" Hallie asked nervously.

"Just taking precautionary action," replied Nightwing. He turned on the machine and turned on a computer where he pulled up all his information on Mumbo and his known connections as well as other information. "I'm going to ask you some questions. First, state your full name for me, please?"

"Hallie Woodrow," she replied. Nightwing nodded.

"Please list all living relatives," said Nightwing, "both by blood and by marriage."

"My mom Bethany, my dad Patrick, my brother Adam, my grandma Annette, and..." she let out a discouraged sigh. "Mother Mae-Eye, my grandpa's second wife."

Nightwing nodded, "When was the last time you saw your grandfather?"

"A little less than two years ago," Hallie replied. "Before he died."

"And how often did you see your grandfather?" Nightwing asked.

"Twice a month," Hallie said.

"What would you talk about?" asked Nightwing.

"Mostly about how school was going," said Hallie.

"Did you ever speak to Mother Mae-Eye?" he asked.

Hallie wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Of course not! She terrified me as a kid. Mom didn't want us talking to her."

"Did you talk about anything else with your grandfather?" Nightwing asked.

Hallie shrugged. "He showed me magic tricks. My parents didn't like it, but they saw it made me happy."

"Did he ever ask you to break him out? To perform magic for him?" he asked.

"No! Yeah, he'd ask my mom to bail him out, but she would always remind him he was in there because of his crimes and for breaking out repeatedly."

"Did you ever want to break your grandfather out?" Nightwing asked.

"No... but he didn't have to die alone in his cell," said Hallie. She shifted in her seat.

"So you did want to break him out," said Nightwing.

"No! I just wish they could have called us when his health got worse. That he was dying," said Hallie on the verge of tears. "He was my grandfather. He committed crimes, but-"

"He was a criminal. People will suspect the same of you," said Nightwing.

"Well, they're wrong! You're wrong!" exclaimed Hallie. "I'm not evil! You're treating me like I'm already a criminal, but I'm not like him! I'll NEVER be like him! And if that's all you came here to say-"

Nightwing stood up. "Congratulations, you're a Teen Titan." he said.

Hallie stared back at him. "Are- are you serious?"

"Absolutely," said Nightwing. He took the attachments from the lie detector test off Hallie and put a hand on her shoulder. "Your grandfather made mistakes. You can't redeem him from that. It's all in the past. But you can show the city that good can come from the bad." He handed her a Titans communicator.

Hallie took in her hands, hugged Nightwing, and ran to her new teammates.

"I'm a Teen Titan!" Hallie exclaimed.

Burrower picked her up and spun her around. "I knew you'd pass!" he exclaimed. When he stopped spinning her, the two blushed.

"Boo-ya! Let's party!" exclaimed Channeler as she grabbed Burrower and Hallie and pulled them into a hug.

"Take it easy, Channeler, we still have homework to do," said Nightstar. Nightwing smirked as he walked into the room.

"Awwww! But we have all weekend to do it," Channeler whined.

"Better get it all done tonight so you can get your new teammate aquatinted with the Titan routine," said Nightwing. With that, he left the Tower.

Suddenly, Hallie's smile disappeared. "I never told my parents that I use magic. How would I explain all of this to them?"

Burrower placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll go with you."

"Might I make a suggestion?" said Falcon as he leaned in. "Two teenagers dressed in costumes shouldn't walk around a neighborhood unless it's Halloween."

"Who says we need to walk?" asked Burrower as he gave Falcon a smirk. Falcon let out a groan.

The teens teleported to Hallie's home where Falcon stayed hidden while Hallie and Burrower went into the house. Her family was sitting on the couch watching television.

"Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad. Hey, Grandma. This is Burrower." said Hallie. Her parents turned off the television and got up to shake Burrower's hand. They seemed confused as to why a Teen Titan was with their daughter and why she was dressed like a stage performer. "There's something I need to tell you." They sat down and she told them how she had been learning magic since her grandfather passed away and how she was given the chance to be a Teen Titan. Her parents were less than happy.

"I can't believe you've been using magic behind our backs," her mother said in a disappointed tone. "What if you got hurt? What if you had gotten arrested? Do you want to end up like your grandfather?"

The accusation brought Hallie to tears. "No. I just... I wanted to be a Teen Titan. I wanted to make up for what Grandpa did."

"You can't make up for your grandfather's actions," said her father. "It's not your responsibility to fix his mistakes. He chose to become a criminal. Besides, being a Teen Titan isn't exactly the safest occupation. The Titans didn't just fight your grandfather, they fought super powered monsters and dangerous criminals. More dangerous than your grandfather. We don't want you to get hurt. And what about your family? And school?"

"We can set her up with the system we have," Burrower assured them. "We go to school every day and train when we finish our homework. And we look after each other." He looked at Hallie and smiled. She smiled back and blushed slightly.

Suddenly, Hallie's grandmother placed her hand over Hallie's. "Is this really what you want to do, sweetie?"

"Hallie nodded. "More than anything."

Her grandmother gripped her hand tightly despite her old age. "Promise me you'll do good for the people. Promise me you won't let the magic consume you."

"I promise," Hallie assured her with a nod.

"Mother?!" Hallie's mom exclaimed in shock.

"It's all right, dear," Hallie's grandmother replied. She looked back at Hallie. "Go. Make us proud." With that, Hallie walked out the door with Burrower and Falcon returned them to the Tower.

In the days to follow, Hallie began to train with the Titans after school and during the weekend. Though her parents were less than thrilled about the idea, the other Titans saw improvement and encouraged Hallie to not let her family's negativity bring her down.

One night after Hallie and Burrower finished their homework, Burrower turned to her. "We have a surprise for you."

"Really?" Hallie asked.

Burrower nodded and led her down the halls. They walked to a room where Burrower opened the door. The room was dark and appeared unoccupied from the light in the hallway.

Hallie raised an eyebrow and turned to Burrower. "What is this?" she asked.

"This is your room," replied Burrower. He went in and turned on the light switch to reveal a furnished room with the rest of the Titans standing in the center.

"Surprise!" they shouted in unison.

In the room, the bed was on a set of stairs with red curtains above the head. There was a dresser near the bed that looked like a dressing room dresser with pictures the Titans had taken over the past few days stuck into the frame of the mirror. All the walls were painted to make it look as though there was a stage, an audience, and a dressing room. The only thing unrelated to the theater theme was a couch and a coffee table in the middle of the room. The other Titans all stood to the side with smiles on their faces. Even Falcon smiled.

"W-what is this?" Hallie asked as she took in the view.

"It's your room, silly!" exclaimed Channeler with a wide smile. "So, do you like it? Do you like it? Do you like it? Do you like it? Do you like it? Do-" Falcon covered her mouth with his hand.

"I… I love it," replied Hallie with tears in her eyes. "Thank you so much!"

"Boo-ya! She likes it! She likes it! She likes it! She likes it!" exclaimed Channeler.

"I thought you had your hand over her mouth," said Beast Girl as she watched Channeler bounce around the room and out into the hall.

"I did," Falcon grumbled, looking at his hand. "She licked it… repeatedly. Now comes the part of the evening with the hot water and disinfectant."

"We'll let you have a moment to take it all in," said Nightstar. The Titans left the room except for Burrower.

"So, are you happy?" Burrower asked.

"Yes," Hallie replied, allowing tears to fall down her face. Burrower grabbed a tissue and handed it to her. "Thanks," she said as she wiped her eyes.

Burrower blushed as he looked down at the floor before he looked at Hallie. "So... um... want to go see a movie sometime? With me?"

Hallie smiled and blushed at the offer. "I'd love to."

The two teens looked at each other before they both leaned in and kissed each other. Little did they know a green cockroach was watching them and went under the door before they had a chance to notice.

"And we have lip contact," said Beast Girl as she morphed back to her human form. She turned to her teammates with a smirk. "You guys owe me a veggie pizza."

Nightstar rolled her eyes. "I'll make the call."

"Can we get pepperoni and pineapple too?" asked Channeler. Beast Girl gagged at the idea.

"Did you hear something?" Hallie asked.

"Yes. My sister," said Burrower with an annoyed frown. "But hey, we're getting pizza."

 **To be continued…**

A/N: Special thanks to Brother Bludgeon for helping me with this story. I hope you all like it so far!


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: I don't own the original Teen Titans or Nightstar. The other Titans belong to me. Enjoy!

 **Teen Titans: The Next Generation**

 **Chapter Four: Unwanted Heroes**

May had come and gone and the HIVE students, as well as their hideout, were nowhere to be found. This was beginning to bother Mari more and more each day and her teammates had started to notice. Another weekend was upon them as they walked to their homes.

"Okay, guys, let's go home and hit the books so we can start our training as soon as possible!" Mari exclaimed, trying to sound confident. "If we get enough done, maybe we can do a quick patrol."

"Can't we take a break first?" Maxine whined. "Reruns of Pretty Pretty Pegasus come on at 4:30 pacific, 3:30 mountain, check your local listings."

"Don't you own all the seasons?" Valkin asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"I can also watch every episode ever made using my artificially enhanced computer brain. I like sitting in front of the TV, let me have my rituals. You can have your rituals. Except the kinds with animal sacrifice, those are icky." Maxine huffed, folding her her arms.

Valkin opened his mouth to argue, but sighed and shook his head.

"You guys have been working pretty hard," said Azara, "you should take a break every once in a while."

"We can take a break after we find the HIVE and bring them to justice." Mari insisted as she continued to walk ahead. The others looked at each other with concern.

"Is she always like this?" Hallie asked.

"Well..." Vanessa began, "she's always been a bit hardheaded and tends to over do it like her dad."

"She's never had to lead a team or fight crime before." Valkin pointed out. "It can put a lot of pressure on someone.

"Mom says Nightwing used to push the team really hard sometimes, especially when Slade was around." added Azara. The mere mentioning of the name sent a chill down her cousins' spines.

"Slade?" Hallie asked.

"You don't know about Slade?!" Maxine asked, surprised that anyone who lived in Jump City wouldn't have at least heard of the name."

"Wait, orange and black mask, right?" asked Hallie. "Didn't he almost kill off the Titans and cause an evacuation of the city?"

"Well, technically-" Maxine began before Kyle cut her off.

"Slade manipulated our mom to believe the Titans would reject her because she couldn't control her powers and she believed him," he said, his tone dark as if reliving a nightmare, "he promised that he could help her if she spied on the Titans and destroyed them. When she thought she got rid of them, she attacked the city and people evacuated as Slade took over."

Hallie looked disturbed by the story. "I'm sorry. My parents never liked to talk about all the criminals that attacked the city."

"It's not a time in her life she likes to talk about," Kyle replied.

"Hey, guys! Hurry up! We're wasting time!" Mari called to them. The others sighed in unison and followed after her.

The new heroes went to the Logan home where they managed to finish their homework. They went to the Tower and trained for a half an hour before they did a quick patrol of the city. Once they finished their patrol, they returned to their homes.

Mari was helping her parents clean the table from dinner when she turned to her father. "Dad, isn't it odd how we haven't been able to find the HIVE or their hideout? Or how they haven't tried to attack the mayor or even the prison? Not even a bank robbery."

Richard nodded. "It is strange. I'm sure they're planning something."

"But what was the point of attacking the mayor if they they stop trying after the first time they failed?" Mari asked. "Why aren't they doing something? Anything?!"

"Maybe you guys showing up scared them out of the city," Mari's brother, Robert, suggested.

"But why attempt an attack just to get heroes to show up? What's the point?" said Mari.

"Maybe it was just to get someone's attention." said Robert with a shrug. "To see if any heroes protect the city besides Dad."

Richard put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. He could see the situation was bothering her. "Just stay vigilant. They're bound to show up at some point."

Meanwhile, in the HIVE's secret headquarters, the team that had attacked the mayor were trying to occupy their time, but were growing restless.

"I'm bored!" whined Gadget as she tinkered with a contraption of hers.

"I'm hungry!" Monumenta groaned.

"You're always hungry," Gadget snapped back. Monumenta snarled as Gadget squealed and covered her face.

"Will you idiots knock it off?!" barked Glint. His teammates stared blankly at him as he let out a frustrated sigh and went back to his sketch book.

"Whatcha drawing?" a Benny Various clone asked.

"None of your business." Glint growled.

Another clone snatched the sketch book out of Glint's hands. The sketch was a very illustrated snake with its fangs out and wrapped around a skull "Hey, this ain't bad! You turnin' into some kinda artist or somethin'?"

Glint snatched the sketch book back from the Benny clone. "I said it's none of your business!"

"Sheesh! Touchy!" replied the first Benny clone. "Hey, Benny, you wanna go rob a convenience store?"

"Sure do, Benny!" the second Benny clone replied.

"You know the rules," Glint warned, "we stay inside headquarters until the queen gives us our next mission."

"But we're hungry!" the first clone whined.

"And bored!" the second clone added in. "We need to do more than just classes, homework, and training. We need to get out there! Make the people fear us! Get our adrenaline pumping!"

"Patience, my students, you will have your chance to cause mayhem soon enough." said a woman as she came out of the shadows. She had short, orange hair, green eyes, heavy eye makeup, dark lipstick, and a yellow and black uniform. The woman turned to Glint. "What do I always tell you?"

"You can't just rush into a battle assuming you have the upper hand. You need to be great in number, strength, and mind." replied Glint.

The woman smiled, pleased. "Exactly."

"But Aunt Shimmer, we've been hiding for almost a whole month!" Monumenta protested. "The HIVE used to do all sorts of crimes and whenever they wanted."

Shimmer glared at her niece. "The HIVE was reckless and weak then!" she spat. "Students would get caught and thrown in jail on a regular basis. We can't afford to make the same reckless mistakes. We need to plan every move carefully. Isn't that right, my son?"

"Yes, Mother." Glint sighed.

Shimmer noticed the sketch and snatched the book out of his hand, tore out the picture he had just drawn and crumpled it up. "We need to do what is best for the HIVE. Now, it's getting late. You should all go to bed."

"Yes, ma'am." the teens replied in unison. Shimmer smirked as they headed to their rooms.

The next morning at eight am, Mari called her friends and told them to meet her at Titans Tower to train. Needless to say they were less than happy.

"Hey, Mari, there's this thing called sleeping in." said Kyle. "You should try it sometime."

"I'm going to slip tofu into everything you eat." Vanessa threatened.

"Please don't make me send you to another dimension." said Valkin.

"Aww, man! You woke me up from this really cool dream where there were kittens driving tanks and giant chickens that shot lasers out of their eyes! " Maxine rambled.

The team met at the Tower, stretched, and did a morning workout before they had breakfast. They were about to start lunch when the alarms in the Tower went off. Nightstar checked the computer.

"There's a bank robbery! It might be the HIVE. Titans, go!" When the Titans arrived, there was a swarm of police with cars flashing their lights outside the building. "We're here! Is it the HIVE?" Nightstar asked one of the officers. He looked at the team as if confused as to why they were there.

"What are they doing here?" another officer asked.

"There's three punks with ski masks in there trying to rob the bank and they have hostages." the first officer snapped. "Beat it, kids! Before you get hurt."

"Hey, we're the Teen Titans!" Nightstar snapped back. "We can handle a situation like this. Besides, it might be the HIVE again."

"Those super-powered freaks? They don't wear ski masks. This is a job for the cops! We'll let you know when a super villain comes around. If ever." said the second cop.

Nightstar glared at the police and huddled her team in a circle. "This is a hostage situation. We need to be extra careful going in."

"But the police told us to stay out of it." said Hallie.

"The police just have the building surrounded." said Nightstar. "We need to get in there, disarm the crooks, and get everyone out safely. Here's the plan."

Inside the bank, people whimpered and cried as the three men pointed their guns in different directions. "If anyone comes through that door, everybody dies! Your cops can't save you!" the first thug yelled. The people cringed in fear.

All of a sudden, a black aura covered the three criminals's guns. "What is this?!" the second thief exclaimed. The guns broke into pieces and fell to the ground as the criminals stared in horror.

Suddenly, the Titans came out from behind the teller booths. "Who are these kids?!" the second crook snapped.

Nightstar stood in front of the hostages. "We're the Teen Titans! Titans, go!" she shouted. Burrower, Beast Girl, Hallie, and Channeler followed Nightstar in the attack against the criminals while Falcon, having used a lot of energy and concentration to destroy all three guns at once, escorted the people out.

Meanwhile the police noticed the doors open and saw the hostages exiting the building. They ran to the hostages and helped them to medical aid. Not long after, Nightstar and the others brought the robbers out all bound up.

"Here you go, Officer!" smiled Nightstar triumphantly.

"We told you to stay out of this!" the officer snapped. "You could have gotten someone hurt!" His men took the criminals away and drove off.

"You're welcome." Falcon said dryly.

Nightstar let out a disappointed sigh. "Come on, guys. Let's go back to the Tower." They returned to the Tower where they had lunch and later did another workout. "Come on, guys! Fifteen more pushups!"

"Nightstar, give us a break!" exclaimed Burrower. He wiped the sweat off his forehead. "We've already trained for an hour."

"My arms feel like jelly!" Channeler whined. "And now I want a sandwich. Can we take a break, please?!"

Nightstar sighed in frustration. "Fine. Have your recovery drinks. We can call it a day."

Her friends looked at each other with concern, but said nothing in order to avoid confrontation. In the following days, the situation didn't improve much. One night, the Titans were on patrol when Falcon sensed distress. He followed the emotion until he heard screams.

"Help! Somebody help me!" a woman screamed as a man ran with her purse.

Falcon swooped in and used his magic. "Azarath! Metrion! Zinthos!" His dark energy grabbed the man and threw him against a wall. He glared angrily at the man as his magic handed the woman back her bag.

"You wanna fight, kid?" the man asked, his hands balled into fists.

Falcon's eyes shut and when they opened, four red ones took their place. "Ever danced with a devil?" he asked, his voice dark and sinister. The man stumbled backwards and fell onto some trash cans before he got up and ran away. Falcon's eyes turned to normal and he turned to the woman he had helped. "Are you all right, ma'am?" The woman nodded nervously before she too turned and briskly walked away.

Meanwhile, Nightstar spotted two crooks trying to steal a car. "That doesn't belong to you," she told them.

"Back off before you get hurt, little girl," one of the men sneered. When she took a fighting stance, they charged at her, but she blocked their attacks and twisted their arms as they yelled in pain. "Okay, we're sorry! We're sorry!" the man cried. Nightstar let them go as they held their injured arms and ran away.

At the same time, Beast Girl was on the edge of Jump City when she noticed a dog fight. She leapt into action and turned into a T-Rex before she growled at the people. Once they had ran away, she tried to assure the dogs that they were all right, but they were all too timid to approach her.

When the Titans returned to the Tower, they talked about the events that just occurred. "What do we do now?" Hallie asked.

"See if tomorrow is any different," said Nightstar, though her tone showed she wasn't very optimistic.

The next morning, the teens watched the news from their respective homes. Needless to say, it didn't raise their spirits.

"It has been a month since the so called HIVE had attempted to attack the mayor. The attack was stopped by five super-powered teenagers, but the HIVE had escaped. Since then, there has been no signs of the HIVE. Instead, the Teen Titans have been fighting every day crime and the people of Jump City are beginning to wonder; should the Teen Titans hang up their capes and call it quits? Was this all just a publicity stunt to bring super heroes back to Jump City? Are heroes needed again?"

 **To be continued...**

A/N: Special thanks to Bludgeon for beta-reading this chapter for me!


	6. Chapter 5

A/N: I don't own Nightstar. Brother Bludgeon and I own the rest of the Titans and Snicker-Doodle. Enjoy the story!

Teen Titans: The Second Generation

 **Chapter Five: The Pet**

It was a quiet Saturday afternoon and the Teen Titans were at Titans Tower where Hallie was working on advancing her magic. Channeler sang the circus theme while Nightstar, Burrower, Beast Girl, and Falcon watched Hallie's tricks. "For my next trick, I will pull from this simple, ordinary hat... not one... not two... not three..."

"Get on with it!" Channeler shouted, pausing in her song.

"Four! Four completely different animals a cuddly rabbit, a gentle dove, a ferocious tiger, and... though you may doubt your very senses when you see-"

"GET ON WITH IT!" the Titans shouted as one.

"A majestic elephant. Four animals, one hat, and five soon to be amazed teen super heroes!" She waved her wand and tapped the edge of the hat. "Hocus Pocus! Alba-shabam! Halakazzuh!" Hallie reached into her hat to pull out the first animal. Instead, she pulled out a furry, white creature with black stripes, large, wing-shaped ears, a fluffy white elephant's trunk, dove feet, rabbit back feet, and a rabbit's tail. The creature was about the size of a large rabbit.

"What in Azar's name is that?!" exclaimed Falcon. Nightstar grabbed her friends and jumped behind the couch.

Hallie looked at the animal and screamed as she dropped it on the floor. It looked up at her with big, sad eyes as if to ask 'why did you drop me?'

Channeler came from behind the couch and stared at the creature. "It's… it's… it's so cute!" She turned to the others with a huge grin on her face. "Can we keep it? Can we keep it?!"

Falcon and Nightstar gave each other worried looks. Burrower approached Hallie. "Are you okay?"

"I must have messed up the spell," said Hallie with a frustrated sigh. "I don't know how to fix this."

"Awwww, but it's so cute!" said Channeler. She picked up the creature and began to cuddle it. The creature began to coo. "See? It's friendly!"

Suddenly, the creature's wing-shaped ears opened and it jumped out of Channeler's arms and began to fly around the room. "We need to contain it!" exclaimed Nightstar.

"It's not hurting anybody," said Channeler in the creature's defense.

"We can't just let it just fly around the Tower and do Azar-knows-what to the equipment or our belongings," said Falcon. All of a sudden, the creature landed on Hallie's shoulder.

"My parents can't know about this. They'll ground me for life or worse, make me quit the Titans," said Hallie nervously. She removed the creature and handed it to Nightstar.

"Did your grandpa ever create something like this?" Burrower asked.

"Not that I can think of," said Hallie.

"See? You did something your grandpa never did. That's really impressive," said Burrower with a shrug.

Hallie sighed. "My parents are going to freak."

"You never know. They could say 'wow, you created this creature all on your own? That's incredible!'" said Burrower.

Hallie looked at him with disbelief. "No, more like 'see, Hallie, this is why you shouldn't mess with magic.'"

"Hey, we'll figure something out," said Burrower reassuringly.

"Agreed," said Nightstar. "Falcon, you help Hallie find a spell to get rid of this thing while we keep an eye on it." Falcon nodded and the two left the room.

"Awwww, do we have to get rid of it?" Channeler whined. She tried to pet it, but Nightstar shifted away.

"Channeler, we can't keep it," Nightstar insisted.

"But it's so cute!" Channeler continued to complain.

"I have to agree with Channeler on this one," said Beast Girl. "This is a living creature."

" **Cute** living creature!" Channeler repeated. "I can't stress this enough!"

"We can't keep it," said Nightstar firmly.

"Come on, Nightstar, just look at it!" Channeler insisted.

"Guys, we can't get attached. If we do, it'll be harder for us when we get rid of it," said Nightstar.

"Burrower, you're Hallie's boyfriend. You have an opinion in this," Beast Girl pressed.

Channeler suddenly seemed to tower over him, her face in shadow and her eyes glowing so much brighter and more menacingly than usual.

"If only you knew the power of the Cute Side..."

Burrower looked nervous. "I don't want to get rid of it, but we can't risk Hallie being taken off the team."

Just then, Falcon and Hallie came back. "We couldn't find anything," Hallie sighed.

"Hey, Hal, maybe it would be better if we just kept it?" Burrower hesitantly suggested. "We could keep it here and during the summer, we can stay here so it won't be lonely."

"What about when school starts up again?" Hallie asked.

"We can rotate between houses... just not yours," said Beast Girl.

"Come on," Channeler insisted as she took the creature from Nightstar, "just look at that face!"

Hallie looked at the creature she had made and realize it was actually very cute. "I guess we could keep it. And there's six of us to make sure it's taken care of." She turned to Nightstar. "What do you think?"

"It would be an added responsibility to our daily routine, but not a bad one," said Nightstar. "Our parents had a pet when they were active heroes and most of us didn't have pets growing up."

"Yay! We get to have a pet!" exclaimed Channeler.

"Hey, I think it's time we gave this little guy a name," said Burrower

"I think we should name it Trunks," said Hallie as the creature gave her trunk kisses.

"How about Peanuts," Burrower asked.

"Why not just call the thing It?" asked Falcon.

"Let's call it Flop-a-lop-agus!" exclaimed Channeler.

"We could call it Little Bumgorph," suggested Nightstar.

"Let's see what this little fella wants to be named," said Beast Girl. She turned into a green elephant and grunted. The creature tilted its head to one side. Beast Girl next turned into a tiger and let out a growling roar. The creature growled back. She then turned into a dove, cooed, and fluttered her wings at it and the creature shook its head as if to shake off dust. Beast Girl lastly turned into a rabbit and wiggled her ears and twitched her nose. She morphed back into her human form with a big smile. "Its name is Snicker-Doodle," she said proudly.

"How can you be so sure?" Falcon asked skeptically.

Beast Girl gave him a serious look. "Its name is Snicker-Doodle," she said firmly.

"So how are we going to care for it?" Nightstar asked.

"We get Snicker-Doodle a place to go to the bathroom and food to eat," replied Beast Girl.

"That's obvious," said Falcon, "but what?"

The changeling repeated her shifting routine to Snicker-Doodle and returned to her human form. "Snicker-Doodle wants a litter box with a cover and to be fed peanuts, lettuce, nuts, berries, and carrots made into a salad and served in a bowl," replied Beast Girl.

"Is this Snicker-Doodle talking or you?" asked Falcon.

Beast Girl gave him the serious look again. "This is what Snicker-Doodle wants," she replied.

"Where are we going to keep a litter box?" asked Nightstar.

"Why not in the main room?" asked Burrower. He pointed to an empty space near the door. "How about over there?"

"Yeah sure, why not?" said Falcon in a monotone.

Beast Girl immediately went to work in preparing its food. Hallie and Burrower went out to get Snicker-Doodle a bowl, a litter box with a cover, a collar, a name tag and a variety of pet toys. Once they got back, Beast Girl fed Snicker-Doodle while Nighstar and Burrower set up Snicker-Doodle's litter box. Channeler put the collar around Snicker-Doodle's neck.

That afternoon, they asked their parents to visit the Tower so they could meet Snicker-Doodle. After the Titans explained what happened and how they planned to take care of the creature, their parents smiled proudly.

"It's adorable!" exclaimed Terra as she and Starfire pet Snicker-Doodle.

"Just don't give it zorkaberries," said Changeling. The other retired Titans cringed at the memory attached to the alien fruit.

"I'm glad you're taking charge with this new responsibility," said Nightwing. He suddenly leaned to the side and the others turned around to see what he was looking at.

Channeler was on the couch with Terra and Starfire and had Snicker-Doodle sitting on her lap. It was holding onto her index fingers with its front claws. She moved the arms up and down as she sang a silly song: "Little Bunny Foo-Foo, he was such a weirdo! Knew he was a rabbit, but thought he was a squirrel!" Snicker-Doodle had a smile on its face as she did this.

Everyone stared curiously at Channeler before they continued the conversation. "So anyway, great job to all of you."

The Titans spent the rest of the evening training and let Snicker-Doodle watch. Once they finished, they ate lunch and played with their new pet.

That night after dinner, the team sat on the couch and watched a movie. Snicker-Doodle sat between Channeler and Falcon. Suddenly, the dark Titan felt something furry grab his hand. He looked down and saw Snicker-Doodle use its trunk to place his hand on its back. Snicker-Doodle looked up at him with its big, dark eyes as if to say 'Pet me, please'. The dark Titan let out a sigh as he pet the furry creature. "Fine." Snicker-Doodle cooed like a dove in happiness.

It didn't take long for everyone to accept Snicker-Doodle as part of the group. Every morning they fed it and cleaned out the litter box before they went to school. When they would get home, they would feed him a snack and clean the litter box again. They would let Snicker-Doodle sit with them during meetings, combat practice, and homework so long as it behaved.

One night, Hallie was watching a movie with Burrower. Snicker-Doodle hopped onto the couch and cuddled up to Hallie. She smiled down at the creature and whispered, "I'm glad I made you."

Snicker-Doodle looked up at her with a smile that said 'I know'.

 **To be continued…**

A/N: Special thanks to Brother Bludgeon for helping me create Snicker-Doodle. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!


	7. Chapter 6

A/N: I don't own the Teen Titans, Nightstar, Miss Martian, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Martian, but everyone else I own. Science jokes found online. Enjoy the story!

 **Teen Titans: The Second Generation**

 **Chapter Six: Abilities Exposed**

Valkin walked downstairs to have breakfast with his family before he joined his friends at the Tower. School had just let out for the summer and the Titans were about to become full-time heroes until the HIVE was found and brought to justice. Since the new Titans began their mission to protect the city, Valkin quickly found he was spending less and less time with his twin Azara.

Azara never showed signs of having powers, so she and Robert stayed behind when the HIVE first attacked. Needless to say, Valkin began to miss spending time with his sister and wanted her to feel included. His friends were her friends as well. He gave a half smile as he approached her.

"Hey, Azara, want to come to the Tower with me?" he asked. "Cyborg is updating the systems, Robert's helping Maxine with some... 'television catastrophe', and I'm pretty sure you haven't met Snicker-Doodle yet." He used his fingers as air quotations when he referred to the crisis Maxine had mentioned.

Azara looked at her parents. "Mom? Dad? Is it okay?" she asked.

Brion smiled. "Of course."

Raven nodded. "Just be careful."

She turned back to her twin, "So who, or what, is Snicker-Doodle? Please tell me that's not what you call your secret super hero girlfriend or something."

At Titans Tower, Cyborg was busy updating the computer's systems while the teens kept themselves occupied. Azara sat on the couch with Burrower and Hallie as they played with Snicker-Doodle, Falcon and Nightstar were playing chess, Beast Girl was texting her friends from school, and Channeler and Robert were fixing an old television set.

"Just a few more turns aaand..." said Robert as he screwed a screw into the television, "give it a try."

Channeler plugged the television into the proper plug-ins and turned it on. "It's alive! IT'S ALIVE!" she squealed with excitement.

Cyborg smiled with satisfaction. "All right, y'all. Titans Tower is up to date."

"Thanks, Daddy!" Channeler smiled as she hugged her dad.

"Thank you, Cyborg!" the rest of the group said in unison. Cyborg waved good bye to the kids before he left the Tower.

"So, Azara, I've been meaning to ask," said Hallie, "how come you never became a Titan?"

"Because I don't have powers," said Azara in a matter-of-fact way.

"So? I plan on being a Titan and I don't have powers," said Robert as he hopped over the back of the couch and sat with the others.

Nightstar frowned, jealousy in her eyes. "This isn't permanent, Rob. Once we bring the HIVE to justice, everything will go back to normal."

Robert rolled his eyes, uninterested in hearing his sister's warning. "Hey, you guys want to hear some science jokes?"

"Must you?" Nightstar groaned.

"I think it's inevitable," said Falcon.

Robert smirked. "The optimist sees the glass as half full. The pessimist sees the glass as half empty. The chemist sees the glass completely full, half with liquid, and half with air." Beast Girl, Channeler, and Hallie giggled while the others just shook their heads. "Hey," he continued, "if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate." This time only Beast Girl and Channeler laughed. "Did you hear oxygen and potassium went on a date. It went OK." The others gave him funny looks. "I'm reading a great book on anti-gravity. I can't put it down."

"And I'm done," said Azara. She gave a half smile to her friends. "Thanks for letting me visit the Tower. I think you guys are doing great."

"I'll take you back to mainland," said Falcon. He glanced at Nightstar. "No cheating while I'm gone."

Nightstar frowned. "Why would I do that?"

Falcon smirked. "Because you're losing." Nightstar looked at the board and frowned.

On the shore of the mainland, Falcon reemerged and made sure nobody had seen them. "So, are you going back home?" he asked.

"I think I'll go to the mall. See what they've got there," said Azara.

Falcon nodded and hugged her. "Be safe."

"I will," said Azara as she hugged him back. "See you later!

As children, Azara envied her brother, older siblings, and friends for their abilities, but as they got older, she saw their lives weren't so glamorous. They had to hide their true forms and blend in with the general public so nobody could connect them to the retired heroes. After the Jump City Titans retired, it was as if all Jump City heroes and their children needed to go into hiding. She felt sorry that most of them needed to disguise themselves, but she also felt relieved that she didn't need to take such precautions. She was normal.

As Azara walked to the mall, she saw a soda can on the ground near a trash can. She frowned, wishing the people of Jump City would be a bit more considerate. Suddenly, the soda can began to float into the air. Azara's eyes widened in horror and looked around to see if anyone else had noticed the strange phenomenon. She turned back to the can as it hit the ground with a clank. Azara let out a shaky breath.

"It's all right," she muttered to herself. "It was probably just a gust of wind." But she knew there was no wind. And wind didn't cause objects to float in mid-air.

Azara continued to walk, a little faster than before. She noticed a magazine stand and saw pictures of the Teen Titans on some of the covers. There were titles of articles such as "False Heroes" and "Was the HIVE Attack a Scam?" as well as "Heroes Search for HIVE. No Leads". Azara frowned angrily. She knew her friends were trying their best to find the HIVE, but the city was growing impatient. As she walked, she couldn't help but overhear a conversation.

"Who do you think the new Teen Titans are, anyway?" a young man asked another as they waited for a bus.

"Kids of the original Titans, duh!" the other man replied.

"I know that, but who are they when they aren't playing hero? They could be anybody!" said the first man. Azara walked behind them quickly.

She continued walking when she heard a child behind her. "Mommy! Look at the funny looking lady!"

"Honey, we don't call people that look different from us "funny looking"," the mother scolded.

"Just stop," Azara muttered. She saw a bunch of papers float by. "Get it together, Azara!" She began to hear people screaming and saw her feet weren't touching the ground. "No! I don't have powers! I don't have powers! I don't have powers!" Her eyes began to glow white. All around her everything began to float into the air. People screamed as they desperately clung to whatever they could grab onto that was cemented to the ground. Tears streamed down Azara's face as she watched in disbelief. "This can't be happening!"

All around her everything was floating higher and higher in the air. The sounds of screams, honks, and alarms blared in her ears. Suddenly, Miss Martian came in and grabbed a car before it collided with a bus. Superman swooped in and grabbed several people. Wonder Woman arrived and used her lasso to wrangle down a truck. Green Martian phased through buildings to look for people in trouble. As Azara tried to drown out the noise and make it all go away, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned, eyes still glowing white, as Raven levitated before her.

"Azara! How are you doing this?" Raven asked.

"I'm not! This isn't me!" Azara denied. Raven moved her out of the way from a bus as it floated by. "Azara, you need to calm down! Your powers will only grow stronger."

"This has to be a dream! I don't have powers!" Azara exclaimed.

"Azara, I know you're scared, but you need to face this! You have abilities and you need to learn control. Now please, try to calm down." She placed her hand on Azara's forehead. "I'll help you." Her dark magic illuminated and worked its way into Azara's mind to sooth her and sedate her.

As Azara became unconscious, Raven held her tightly as the natural gravitational pull returned and they landed on the ground. The rest of the retired Titans surrounded the mother and daughter as Starfire took Azara from Raven. "She is all right, yes?" Starfire asked with concern.

"She will be," Raven replied in a monotone.

All of a sudden, the mayor walked up to the heroes with a bit of a limp while Wonder Woman assisted him. Geo-Force and Raven stepped forward while the others kept Azara hidden. "I demand an explanation for this!" the mayor shouted.

"Mister Mayor, we have don't have an explanation just yet," said Geo-Force firmly yet politely. "We still need to figure out just what happened."

"All of Jump City knows what happened!" the mayor barked. "Gravity decided to quit its job for a few minutes and it could have hurt hundreds if not thousands of people and caused possibly millions in property damage! The people need answers **now**!"

"T.U.R.F will help pay for the damage," Raven said coldly, "and like Geo-Force said, we will have an explanation once we have all the answers."

"I don't care who pays for the damage!" the mayor yelled. "I want this thing contained and controlled!" Raven glared at the mayor and he shrunk back. "I will have an explanation first thing in the morning. No exceptions."

"Yes, sir," the heroes replied.

At Titans Tower, the retired heroes talked amongst themselves around the couch while the teens stood nearby with worried looks on their faces.

"Azara's sleeping in Falcon's room," said Raven.

The others nodded. Geo-Force hugged his wife. "Don't worry, angel. We'll figure this out."

"How does Azara have powers?" Starfire asked. "She never showed signs of having any before, correct?"

"None that we saw," said Geo-Force. "And if she did, we never caught it. This could be just something that happens when two enhanced people procreate."

Raven turned to see Falcon. He was quiet. Brooding. She walked to him and gestured to the other teens that they move over a bit. They moved closer to their parents.

"Son, talk to me," said Raven.

"I should have sensed something was wrong," said Falcon. "I should have known she had abilities."

Raven placed a hand on his cheek. "It's not your fault. You didn't know. Neither did we. We're going to help her figure this out." She turned to her friends. "I'm going to take her to Azarath. I can help her with her powers and we'll be safe there."

"I'm coming with you," said Geo-Force.

Raven frowned. "No, you're the ambassador of Markovia. You have a job to do."

Geo-Force also frowned. "I can call my brother and let him know that there is a family emergency and that I need some time off. We both need to be there to help our daughter." He turned to Falcon. "Son, if it's all right with you, it's best for you to stay with your aunt and uncle while we're gone." Falcon nodded in agreement. Geo-Force turned to Changeling and Terra. "Is that all right with you?"

"It's fine, dude," said Changeling.

Terra gave her brother a reassuring smile. "We'd be happy to have him."

"Yeah, it'll kind of be like the sleep-overs we had as kids," said Burrower.

Falcon looked at his parents. "Promise you'll let me know if her condition improves?"

"Of course," Raven nodded.

The next day, Cyborg, Nightwing, and Starfire went to the mayor and gave him a vague report on what happened and promised that the situation would be contained. Naturally, the mayor wasn't completely satisfied, but a promise of containment was better than nothing.

Meanwhile, Azara and Geo-Force traveled to Azarath with Azara. They were met by Arella, Raven's mother, who graciously took them in and agreed to assist them in helping Azara learn to control her newfound power.

At the Logan home, Valkin was still depressed. He still felt responsible for not seeing that his twin had abilities and had been denying it for who knows how long. As he lay in the bottom bunk of Kyle's bed, he made a promise.

'Don't worry, Azara. Mom and Dad will help you control your powers. And when you come back, I'll be there to support you. And I swear I won't let anyone else experience what you've been through.' With the vow made, Valkin was able to close his eyes and sleep.

 **To be continued...**

A/N: I had always had the idea that Azara would have powers, but as I thought about the prospect and discussed it with my husband, we agreed that sometimes meta-humans create complex situations with their children. Raven always needed to meditate to keep her powers in check and with hers and Geo-Force's genetics combined, it was easy for some mutation to happen and for delayed effects. I also knew Azara wouldn't be part of the Jump City Titans, but I wasn't sure how to transition her to a different team. Also, in case you're wondering how Raven can go back to Azarath after Trigon supposedly destroyed it, you can see that Azarath was restored in the Titans Go comic #44 "Red Raven".


	8. Chapter 7

A/N: It's been established I don't own the Teen Titans and Nightstar, just most of the second generation. Enjoy the story!

 **Teen Titans: The Second Generation**

 **Chapter Seven: The HIVE Strikes Again!**

In the days that followed Azara's accident, the people of Jump City became skeptical of the heroes that protected them. The Teen Titans assured the press that the situation was being taken care of and that the search for the HIVE would continue.

In the HIVE secret headquarters, Queen Bee was at her desk going through paperwork and typing on her computer. Every once and a while, she glanced at a newspaper article titled "Gravity Temporarily Stops! New Super on Horizon?". A blurred image of the scene where Azara's accident happened was on the front cover. She sipped her coffee and pressed a button on her intercom. "Gizmo, any word on the child that caused the phenomenon?"

"No, my queen," Gizmo's voice came in. "My drones are still searching. Those crud-munching Titans must have gotten a hold of them first."

"Keep searching," she replied. "We could use an asset like that." She continued to go through files on her computer when a frown came to her face. She saw a bank balance was lower than she had expected it would be. After doing some calculations, she muttered angrily and pressed another button on her intercom. "Shimmer, get me team alpha."

"Yes, my queen!" Shimmer replied over the intercom.

Within minutes, Monumenta, Glint, Benny Various, Nyte Flyer, and Gadget stood in the queen's office. The five teens kneeled before her. "I need you to steal from the First National Bank of Jump City."

"Woo-hoo! Finally, a mission!" exclaimed Benny. Gadget nudged him with her elbow for him to be quiet.

"Get some sleep. You strike tonight," Queen Bee told them.

"Yes, my queen," the teens said in unison."

That night the Teen Titans were out on patrol. Channeler let out a yawn. "Can we go back to the Tower? I'm getting tired."

Nightstar pulled out her communicator and looked at the time. "It is getting late. Just ten more minutes and we'll head back." The others nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, the HIVE team crept through the shadows of the city as they headed for the bank. Once there, Gadget sent several drones to disarm the security system. Nyte Flyer then gathered his teammates and released them into the bank. The group crept through the darkness as they searched for the vault. When they found it, Monumenta forced it open.

Monumenta and Glint began to hand money to Nyte Flyer as he held a bag while Gadget and Benny Various stood guard.

Benny let out a yawn. "This is way more boring than I thought it'd be," Benny complained. "I thought there'd be more excitement."

"This mission isn't for your amusement, crud-muncher," Gadget snapped. "We were told to retrieve the money for Queen Bee."

Benny glanced at the vault. "Think she'd mind if we stole a little extra?" he asked with a mischievous grin. "I want to get something for this girl I'm seeing."

Nyte Flyer glared at Benny. "You'd better not be referring to my sister," he warned.

"Why not?" Benny asked defensively. "Glyder's cute and she can date whoever she wants."

"I'd rather her not date a hillbilly like you,"Nyte Flyer growled.

"I'm not a hillbilly!" Benny snapped back. "And you're just saying that because she's your sister!"

"Both of you be quiet before we get caught!" Glint scolded.

"Just stay away from her," Nyte Flyer warned. "You don't want to mess with the Wykkyd family."

"Oh, I'm so scared!" Benny mocked. "Well I've got some news for you, Nyte Flyer, I like your sister and she can date any guy in the HIVE. But if she's going to date someone the HIVE, it's going to be **me**!" He slammed his fist against a wall only to hit an alarm. "Uh-oh," he winced as the alarm began to blare in their ears.

Glint glared knives at his teammate. "Benny," he growled.

"What do we do?" Monumenta asked in a panic.

"Run!" Glint shouted.

The young criminals bolted as fast as they could out of the bank, tripping and knocking over anything in their way. Unfortunately for them, they didn't get far before the Teen Titans found them.

"We were wondering when you'd show your faces again," Nightstar smirked.

"We were doing way better at this ten minutes ago, I swear!" Benny squeaked out in panic.

"Nyte Flyer, get us out of here!" Glint snapped.

"Any chance we can leave Various behind," Nyte Flyer snapped as he glared at his teammate.

"Titans, go!" Nightstar exclaimed. The Titans charged at the villains as the HIVE students fought back.

"Nyte Flyer, get to the HIVE! Pick us up after you drop off the goods!" Glint shouted. Nyte Flyer nodded as he teleported away just before Beast Girl as a lioness lunged at him.

"What did you steal?" Nightstar asked as she shot a starbolt at Glint.

Glint smirked as he dodged it. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Yeah, we would! That'd be great!" said Channeler as she shot electricity at him.

Glint groaned as he fell to his hands and knees. Just then, Nyte Flyer returned. "Get us out of here!" he demanded.

"You never answered my question if we could leave Various," Nyte Flyer replied dryly.

"Hey!" Benny Various shouted as he blocked a punch from Burrower.

"Just do it!" Glint shouted.

"Titans, don't let them get away!" Nightstar exclaimed. But Benny Various created hundreds of copies of himself to restrain and distract the Titans while Nyte Flyer teleported each of his teammates one by one. "You won't get away with this!" Nightstar shouted.

"You heroes are so cliche," Glint smirked before he was teleported away. Once Nyte Flyer took each of his teammates, the copies of Various disappeared.

"What do we do now?" Beast Girl asked nervously.

Nightstar turned to her teammates, trying to hide her discouragement. "Sorry, guys, but we're going to have to pull an all-nighter."

"I'd better get some energy drinks," sighed Channeler.

In the HIVE secret headquarters, the battered villains stood before Queen Bee and emptied the bag of money onto the floor.

Queen Bee glared at the pile with disapproval. "This is all you retrieved?" she asked.

"It's all we could get away with before the Titans showed up," said Glint.

Queen Bee slammed her fists on her desk. "What do you mean before the Titans showed up?!" she exclaimed.

"Benny tripped an alarm," Monumenta grunted.

"It wasn't me, it was the other me!" Benny exclaimed in a panic.

"No it wasn't! It was you and you know it!" a Benny clone snapped back as it popped out of the original Benny's body.

"ENOUGH!" Queen Bee roared. The teens cringed in fear. Queen Bee cleared her throat and looked sternly at the team. "You will try again and you will not fail me." She paused for a moment. "The Teen Titans will be expecting you to strike again. You will need to go to another city."

"Yes, my queen!" the team said in unison as they bowed before her.

 **To be continued...**

A/N: This was a slightly short chapter, but we get to see more of the HIVE and see the Titans becoming full-time Titans.


	9. Chapter 8

A/N: I don't own the original Teen Titans, the original HIVE members, Queen Bee, Damien Darhk, or Nightstar. I own everyone else in this chapter. Enjoy!

 **Teen Titans: The Next Generation**

 **Chapter Eight: The HIVE vs Star City**

In the HIVE's secret headquarters, Glint sat in the cafeteria as he ate his lunch while he mentally prepared himself for the upcoming mission. His teammates were at the end of the table where Monumenta was arm-wrestling multiple Benny clones and Benny was clearly losing. Glint tried his best to ignore his friends' chanting, groans, and jeers. Unlike him, they didn't have the weight of the expectations of Queen Bee and Shimmer on their shoulders.

From the time he was a small child, his mother Shimmer pushed him to be the best HIVE operative that the organization had ever seen. This led to everyone believing that he was the favorite of her children. But Glint hated the attention. He couldn't goof off with friends, sleep in on the weekend, or pursue his love of art. Glint had to hide his drawings from his mother and suppress any dreams of becoming something other than a high-ranking member of the HIVE.

Glint looked up and noticed his older brother Deathwish walk by with a tray of food. He had black hair kept in a pony-tail, a mask covering his face, a black leather jacket with spikes on the shoulders, a dark blue shirt, denim jeans, and black boots.

"Hey, bro, come sit with us!" Glint called out to him. "We've got plenty of room." Deathwish looked from his brother to his teammates. Glint's friends had quietly filled the extra seats at the table.

"No thanks. I'm good," Deathwish replied.

Glint frowned as he watched his brother walk away, unaware of what his friends had done. "Don't bother. He's a loser anyway," Benny commented. Glint shot a glare at him and used his powers to make Benny's chair turn to mud. A majority of the Benny clones fell as the chair supporting them was transmuted. Suddenly, Gadget turned and noticed someone else walking towards their table.

"Uh, don't look now, but Glimmer's coming this way," she whispered.

Glint's face only grew more sour as the young teenaged girl with blue eyes and dark brown hair approached him. She wore a dark blue and black uniform and had a cocky smile on her face. Once the girl approached, she rested her arm on Glint's shoulder. "Hey, Glint. Heard you failed your mission last night. Bet Mom gave you an earful," she said, her smirk growing bigger. "Hope you guys don't screw up tonight or Mom's gonna be-"

Glint turned sharply to look at her, forcing her to take her arm off his shoulder. His eyes shot daggers at her with his glare. "Buzz off, Glimmer! Why don't you go bug Mom or your dad?"

Glimmer sneered at him. "I don't know why you're Mom's favorite." With that, she walked away.

Glint pushed his food away. "I'm not hungry." He got up from the table and headed towards his room. Monumenta slowly pulled Glint's tray closer to her and ate what was left on his plate.

As Glint got closer to his room, fellow students and staff smiled and greeted him. He was the son of Queen Bee's second in command, so most of the students and staff treated him with respect whether they liked him or not. This made Glint only more upset as it just added to the number of eyes watching him. He felt like everyone around him was watching and recording his every move and reporting it back to Shimmer which only made her push him harder.

Glint once asked his uncle Mammoth why he got so much attention from his mother to the point his siblings referred to him as "the favorite". According to Mammoth, Glint and Deathwish's father was a reckless, handsome young man who found the HIVE and wanted to join. Shimmer was smitten from day one even though Mammoth warned her that the guy might be bad news. She ignored her brother's advice and the two started having a romantic relationship. Not long after Deathwish and Glint were born, their father got bored and began to make risky decisions and commit crimes without Queen Bee's knowledge, which was frowned upon since it could lead to the HIVE being discovered. When Shimmer spoke to him about it, the discussion turned into an argument and the argument turned violent to the point where Mammoth had to step in. They took the rogue to Queen Bee and she sent him away, his whereabouts unknown to the HIVE. Shimmer began to ignore Deathwish due to his close resemblance to his father.

Some time later, a man named Damien Darhk found the HIVE seeking refuge from Vandal Savage who he had been spying on until he got caught. Damien was welcomed into the HIVE and eventually, he and Shimmer became a couple. Damien didn't get involved in the boys's lives and left Shimmer and the rest of the HIVE to raise them which Shimmer didn't seem to mind. Some time later, they had Glimmer. When Glimmer discovered she had powers like their mother, Glint thought the pressure would be taken off him, but it never happened. When Glint asked Mammoth why this was so, Mammoth said 'you're older and she's already been training you. Besides, I'm sure you've noticed her hot-headed attitude.' It was true, Glimmer often acted as though she knew more than her brother despite being younger than him which got her into trouble sometimes.

Glint flopped onto his bed and sighed, wishing he were someone else. He wished that he didn't have an overbearing mother, a step-father that ignored both him and his brother, and an arrogant, annoying half-sister. However, he knew there was nothing he could do to change his situation. He spent the rest of his lunch hour in his room until it was time to go back to class. Toward the end of the day, Shimmer had Glint and his teammates dismissed from their remaining classes to rest and prepare for their mission.

Once it was time, the team teleported to Star City. They crept through the city until they found the bank. The team quietly approached and Gadget began to work on disarming the security system of the building.

"Let's hurry up and get this over with," Glint growled quietly. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed looking restless.

"You can't rush these things," Gadget snapped in a hushed tone.

Once they got into the building, Gadget began to work on the safe while the others kept watch. As they walked around, Benny Various bumped into a desk. Glint glared at him. "Don't. Touch. Anything." he warned.

"All right, all right! Sheesh, somebody's cranky," groaned Benny. He rubbed his side where he had bumped into the desk and grabbed a handful of candy from a bowl sitting on the desk.

"All right, I'm in!" said Gadget. The team grabbed the money and ran out of the building.

Just as the team was about to teleport, a gas bomb landed at their feet. The gas bomb exploded and the team ran to get away from the gas, they were stopped by a teenaged boy. "You guys have a lot of nerve coming into our city," he said.

"More like lack of sense," remarked a teenaged girl with blue skin.

A pair of twins cornered the villains in. "You'd think they'd know better than to try to mess with Star City," said the first twin.

"Especially when we're the ones protecting it," said the second twin.

The HIVE team had come face to face with the Star City Teen Titans. The first was Phoenix, the son of Flamebird and Blue Beetle. He had spiked, dark brown hair, tanned skin, and a black mask that covered his eyes. Phoenix wore a dark red leotard with a golden phoenix on it, a black utility belt, a long cape that was black on the outside and yellow on the inside with flame-like edges, and gloves and boots that resembled flames.

Then there were Hex and Charm, daughters of the Flash and Jinx. They both had Jinx's pale grey skin and Flash's red hair. Hex wore a dark red uniform with long sleeves, a skirt, and an opening in the front with a lightning bolt pattern that exposed her belly button. She also wore dark red boots with black heels and lightning bolt pattered trim. Around her neck was a black choker with a lightning bolt charm. Charm wore a dark blue uniform similar to Hex's, but it had holes on the shoulders and in the back with a light blue trim. She also wore pale blue leggings with the same light blue trimmed holes as well as dark blue boots with light blue heels and rims. Around her neck was a black choker with a blue gem charm.

Beside them was Megawatt, daughter of Kilowatt and Mirage. She had pale blue skin, white eyes, and bright pink hair. Her uniform consisted of black crop top, boy shorts, arm guards, and knee-high boots all with bright pink lightning bolt trim.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Glint yelled angrily.

"If you put the money down and come quietly, we won't have to hurt you," Phoenix said. "But if you don't, it'll get messy."

"Fat chance! HIVE Five, attack!" Glint shouted.

The villains began to fight their way out of being cornered. "Monumenta, hit the ground!" Glint ordered.

Monumenta raised her fists and smashed the floor, causing it to shake and crack and cause the heroes to lose balance.

"HIVE Five, split up!" Glint snapped at his teammates. They nodded and ran in different directions.

"Titans, don't let them escape!" Phoenix called.

As the Titans chased after the villains, Hex spotted Glint and gave chase. "I've got this one!"

Glint ran as fast as he could, using anything he could find and turn it into an obstacle for his pursuer. He knocked over trash cans, ran , used his powers to change the elements of different objects. At last, he found himself at a dead end. He muttered curse words to himself as he heard footsteps behind him.

"What are you doing in Star City?" Hex asked as she slowly approached him. "You should know that if we arrest you, you'll be sent straight to Jump City where you'll be charged for your crimes and thrown into the Mega-Security Prison." She frowned sadly. "You're too young to throw your life away."

Glint looked at her with a mixture of flattery and determination while his stance showed he was ready to fight. "I have no intention to go to jail."

"Then you need to stop committing these crimes," said Hex earnestly. "What are you even doing this for? Wealth? Fame? Power?" she asked. "The HIVE has been inactive for years. So why show up now?"

Glint let out a laugh. "The HIVE **has** been active. You haven't been looking under the right rocks."

Hex continued to frown. "So why commit a crime in Star City?"

"The HIVE has a new leader. They tell us when and where to commit crimes. The rest of the time we train and attend classes," said Glint.

"That doesn't sound like much of a life," Hex replied.

Glint opened his mouth to reply, but closed it, knowing he'd be lying if he disagreed with Hex's statement. He looked down, angry at the situation. "There's nothing else for me," he growled. "I'm the son of criminals, in a family of criminals, and I've been raised in a criminal organization all my life- what else is there for me?!" he asked, practically demanding Hex to rebuttal.

"My mom was a criminal." Her tone was cold at first, but then it softened. "She didn't think she had any better options until she met my dad. It took a lot of work, but soon she had a place to live, a job to support her, and friends that supported her and became like family. You don't have to be a criminal. You can be better than that. And you'd be able to do more with your life. You could end up doing something you enjoy." She gave him a hopeful smile.

"You really think so?" Glint asked.

"Absolutely," said Hex.

He looked down again. "I'd have to betray the HIVE, wouldn't I?"

Hex bit her lip. "Unfortunately, yes. They'd be arrested and put in jail."

Glint sighed. "But I wouldn't have to go to jail."

"Not if you help us," she replied. She took a step forward and gave him a sympathetic smile. "I know it's not an easy decision, but you wouldn't have to do it alone. And who knows? The ones that don't have criminal records yet might not go to jail. They could even join us." She smiled a little brighter.

Before Glint could reply, Gadget came up behind them and hit Hex in the back of the head, knocking her out. "Come on, we've gotta get out of here," said Gadget in a panicked voice.

Glint followed his teammate. "Where are the others?"

"Hiding," replied Gadget.

"Were we able to get the money?" Glint asked. His voice held a hint of hope.

"No," grumbled Gadget. "They literally beat it out of us." Glint growled in frustration. "Queen Bee's gonna be mad when we tell her what happened," Gadget said nervously.

"You think she's scary, you should see my mom," replied Glint.

Meanwhile, Charm was looking for her sister when she found her in the alley. "Hex! Sis, what happened?" she asked as she helped her sister onto her feet.

"I had him cornered," said Hex as she rubbed the back of her head. "I was trying to talk some sense into him, but one of his teammates must have knocked me out. Did they get away?"

"Yeah," Charm sighed with frustration before she smiled slightly, "but we got the money back!"

Hex gave a half-smile. "That's good."

As the Teen Titans returned to their Tower, Hex couldn't help but wonder if she was able to get through to Glint and help him see there was more to life than just villainy. Back at HIVE headquarters, the team filed into Queen Bee's office where they stood in front of Queen Bee and Shimmer empty handed.

Queen Bee slammed her fists on the desk which caused the group to tremble. "You are some of my best students. So how is it that you with all your years of training you are defeated twice?! I demand an explanation!"

There was a moment of silence before Glint stepped forward. "It was my fault, my queen. The Star City Titans found us and we fought. I felt it would be easier to lose them if we split up, and I ordered the team to do so. It was my judgment call, so it's my fault."

Queen Bee stood up and let out a frustrated sigh. "We can't afford to send you out there again. The Teen Titans will do whatever it takes to capture you and we can't allow that to happen. We'll have to take alternative action. You're dismissed."

As the group left Queen Bee's office, Shimmer followed them. "Glint, a word."

Glint looked back at his teammates before he turned to Shimmer. "Yes, Mother?"

"What was that back there?" she demanded. "Why did you take the blame for your teammates?"

Glint avoided eye contact with her. "It was my judgment call. I'm the leader of the team."

"They are weak and because of that, you failed your mission!" Shimmer snapped. "I'm cutting down your team's homework and down time. They need to focus on training. You will be working with me from now on." She put her hands on his shoulders. "No son of mine will be weak. You're going to be second in command after me. You will not fail me, understand?"

"Yes, Mother," Glint sighed.

"Look at me when you say that," Shimmer replied.

Glint looked up at her. "Yes... Mother."

"Good. You're dismissed," she replied with a smirk.

Glint returned to his room and flopped onto his bed. He then flipped onto his back and stared at the ceiling, his mind abuzz with everything that had happened. The thing that seemed to stick out the most in his mind was what Hex had said.

' _You don't have to be a criminal. You'd be able to do more with your life. You could end up doing something you enjoy.'_

He got off his bed and went to his desk where he pulled out his sketch books from one of the drawers and looked them over. Drawing had been a passion of his from the time he was young, but nobody in the HIVE ever supported him, especially his mother. He looked at the detailed drawings he had created and thought about making a career with his art. Just the thought of doing something that he enjoyed made him smile. It was in that moment that he had made up his mind. He packed a duffle bag full of clothes and belongings.

Suddenly, it hit him that he had no way to get to Star City on his own. His teammate Nyte Flyer had always teleported him when they were sent on missions and he had no money of his own seeing as how the HIVE had provided everything for him all his life. He let out a frustrated sigh. The only way he could get to Star City would be in approaching the Jump City Teen Titans, explaining the situation, and praying that they believe him and help him get there.

Glint swallowed hard before he threw his duffle bag onto his back, left his room, and stealthily made his way through the HIVE headquarters and out into the streets of Jump City. Once he made it to the beach, he used his powers to turn the water into solid material as he ran across.

As he walked up to the Tower, he didn't stop to think about the Titans' security system or if he might trigger it by getting close to the Tower. Sure enough, he triggered an alarm that awoke the Titans. By the time he made it to the front door, the Titans opened it and were braced to attack. They were surprised to see Glint standing there, duffle bag in tow.

"What are you doing here?!" Nightstar demanded, ready to fire a starbolt at his face.

Glint raised his hands in the air. "I'm here because I need your help!" he said in a panic. "I quit the HIVE and I want to join the Titans in Star City."

"Come again?" Falcon asked.

"He's abandoning the dark side, which makes perfect sense," Channeler added. "They have cookies, but we have waffles."

"My team and I were sent to steal money from a bank in Star City, but the Titans there stopped us," Glint explained.

"We know." said Nightstar.

Glint continued. "During the fight, my team split up and I was cornered by Hex. She told me I didn't have to be a criminal and I could do more with my life. So, here I am. I can't get to Star City on my own, so I need your help."

"Why Star City?" Burrower asked.

"I need to get away from the HIVE. As soon as they realize I left, they'll be after me." He let out a sigh. "Hex said I could do more with my life. I want to see if that's true."

"And we're just supposed to believe that you've turned away from a life of crime after one inspirational speech?" Nightstar asked.

"It's happened before," said Channeler with a shrug. "A lot, actually. Inspirational speeches are truly the greatest weapon of all."

Glint sighed. "I know you don't believe me, but I need your help. If it makes you feel better, I've stopped committing crimes as of..." he looked at his watch, "three hours ago."

"Well that's comforting," Falcon said dryly.

"Okay. We'll call the Star City Titans," said Nightstar. "But you're sitting in the interrogation room **and** , if you **do** become a Titan, you have to help us take down the HIVE."

While Nightstar called the Star City Titans, Falcon, Burrower, Channeler, Hallie, and Beast Girl sat in the interrogation room with Glint. "So, what's in the bag?" Burrower asked.

"My clothes," Glint replied dryly. They suddenly heard scratching on the door. "What's that?"

Channeler opened the door to find Snicker-Doodle looking very lonely. "Awww, we left poor Snicker-Doodle outside and it feels left out!" Channeler said as she scooped up their pet and brought it into the room.

"What is that thing?" Glint asked as he stared skeptically at the creature.

"It's Snicker-Doodle!" said Channeler in a matter-of-fact way. "Hallie accidentally created it while practicing magic and now it's our pet."

Snicker-Doodle began to wiggle its way out of Channeler's arms and hopped onto the table where it began to sniff Glint with its trunk. Then it began to butt its head against Glint's hand as if asking to be pet.

"Looks like he has Snicker-Doodle's approval," said Hallie.

Meanwhile, in the main room, Nightstar was talking to Hex on the com. "Yeah, I told him that he didn't need to be a criminal and that he could do something he enjoyed rather than serving a criminal organization," said Hex as she spoke to Nightstar. "He said their new leader is the one who sends them on missions and chooses when and where to strike. While the rest of the time, they're training and attending classes. It sounded..."

"Drone-like?" Nightstar asked, trying to finish the sentence.

"Yeah. Like the leader is a queen bee telling her bees what to do and when to do it. And when they aren't following those orders, they're training and being educated in who-knows-what and doing nothing else." said Hex.

"If what he's saying is true, he could be the key to us taking down the HIVE for good. Are you sure you're up to it?" Nightstar asked.

Hex smiled and nodded. "Phoenix and Megawatt are a bit skeptical, but we'll keep an eye on him and let you know what he tells us." A half-hour later, the Star City Titans arrived at the Tower to pick up Glint. Hex approached Glint with a smile. "I'm glad you listened to what I had to say."

Glint gave her a half smile. "Let's just hope that what you said is true."

"Okay, before we go any further with this," said Phoenix as he turned to Megawatt, "Megawatt, search him," he ordered.

Before Glint had a chance to react, Megawatt lifted a hand full of electricity as she waved it around his body and duffle bag, barely touching him. Needless to say he was terrified. "What are you doing?" he asked nervously.

"Checking you for electronic devices," Megawatt replied in a monotone. Once she finished, she took a step back and the electricity in her hand disappeared. "He's clear."

"So, ready to be a Teen Titan?" Charm asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," said Glint. He turned to the Jump City Titans. "Thanks for listening."

The team smiled and nodded. "Just don't let us down," said Nightstar.

Glint smiled. "I won't." With that, he hopped into the Star City Titans' T-Ship and they flew home.

 **To be continued...**

A/N: Wow! It's been almost a full year since my last chapter! I need to kick my butt into high gear and not allow myself to take this long. There was a lot of writer's block and procrastination on this chapter and I apologize for that. Hopefully you'll enjoy it none the less! I put Phoenix in the Star City team because it made more sense than Boiler. You'll see why in later chapters.

Special thanks to my husband for beta reading this story.


	10. Chapter 9

A/N: I don't own the original Teen Titans or Nightstar. I do own Nightstar's teammates and the Star City Titans. Warning of physical and vocal abuse. Enjoy the story!

 **Teen Titans: The Second Generation**

 **Chapter Nine: An Enemy or an Ally?**

The morning after Glint left the HIVE, the atmosphere in the facility went from subdued to chaotic. It all started when Shimmer went to Glint's room to start him on his personal training. Shimmer opened the door to her son's room only to find him, as well as several of his clothes and belongings, missing and his HIVE communicator on his desk. At first, Shimmer tried to think of a logical explanation for his disappearance, but couldn't find one. She had all of the staff and students' rooms thoroughly checked with still no sign of her son. Finally, she turned to his friends and asked when they had seen him last.

"Sorry, Aunt Shimmer, but we haven't seen him since last night," said Monumenta. She cowered before her aunt, whom she could tell was growing more and more frustrated.

As Shimmer walked down the hall, trying to figure out her next move, Queen Bee approached her with a stern look on her face. "Shimmer, a word?"

Meanwhile, at the Star City Titans Tower, Glint joined the team in the main room. Hex greeted him with a smile. "Good morning! I hope you slept well." Glint was a little off-put by the cheerful greeting, but nodded and smiled back. "What would you like for breakfast?" she asked.

"Uh, toast and scrambled eggs is fine," Glint replied as he adjusted his hair. Hex nodded to confirm that she understood and went to the kitchen to prepare his meal. As Glint sat down at the dining table, Phoenix sat across from him.

"So, are you ready to help us take down the HIVE?" Phoenix asked.

Glint felt a weight settle in the pit of his stomach. He knew he had to share the information he had on the HIVE as part of his agreement to become a Teen Titan, but at that moment, he wished he could just start being a hero and forget the HIVE all together.

"Yeah, sure," said Glint, though he sounded less than enthusiastic.

"Hey, don't worry," said Hex as she set the plate of food in front of him. "Those that haven't committed crimes will likely be set free. And those who have committed crimes will be put through the justice system."

"I know what the 'justice system' is like," Glint snapped, using air quotes. "They deliver quick and harsh punishment for the pettiest of crimes. It doesn't matter to them if you have family or had no other option because people treated you like freak. They lock you up for life, never to see the outside world again. Look at that- that- that blue guy, the magician. He died in prison and for what? Stealing money from banks? Causing some damage?"

"He did use magic to commit those crimes," said Charm. "It took the Teen Titans to take him to jail."

"But did he have to die in prison for it?" Glint argued. The Titans didn't respond. "Admit it. The system is messed up."

"It might be time to make some changes," said Phoenix while Glint huffed, "but we could really use your help. The HIVE has committed crimes and they need to answer for them."

Glint sighed. "Okay. I'll tell you what I know."

After the Titans cleaned up from breakfast, Glint sat opposite of Phoenix in the interrogation room with a recording device on the table. Phoenix pressed the recording button. "Begin your statement."

Back at the HIVE, Queen Bee spoke to Shimmer about her missing son. "I assure you, my queen, Glint would never betray us," said Shimmer, trying to stay calm. "He's my- our best student. The top of his class."

"Maybe so," said Queen Bee sternly, "but we can't take the risk." She let out a heavy sigh. "We're going to have to block off our main exit. Nobody comes or goes without my consent." She drummed her fingers against the desk. "We may have to relocate."

"That won't be necessary, my queen!" Shimmer exclaimed. "Glint would never give away our position."

"It might not be up to him," replied Queen Bee. "The Titans might use torture or telepathy to get inside his head. Then everything he knows will be exposed. It would put our base and everyone in it at risk. We will have to spend what resources we have left to rebuild."

"What about Glint?" Shimmer asked.

Queen Bee stared firmly at Shimmer. "Find him. Dispatch a team if you must, but find him."

"Yes, my queen," Shimmer bowed before she left the room. Once out of Queen Bee's office, she approached two staff members. "Have team alpha sent to my office. They're missing one, so have GaleXLy join them."

"Yes, Ma'am!" the two staff members replied as they saluted before they walked away.

Deathwish happened to notice the exchange. He was suspicious of his mother's actions, but otherwise uninterested. "What's all this about?" Deathwish asked aloud, more to himself than anyone else.

"Oh, you didn't hear?" Glimmer asked as she came up from behind him with a crooked smile on her face. "Glint's gone missing. Mother's fuming."

"Then why do you look so happy?" Deathwish asked as he eyed his half-sister suspiciously.

Glimmer let out a laugh. "Of course **you** wouldn't understand. With Glint gone, it means Mother will finally realize that I should be the one to succeed her."

"Whatever you say," sighed Deathwish as he walked away.

As Glint walked out of the interrogation room, he felt his nerves getting the better of him again and walked to the refrigerator where he pulled out a bottle of sparkling water. He then turned to the counter and picked a banana from the bunch in a bowl. Once he had done that, he walked over to the couch and opened his sketch book and put down his pencils, inking pens, and erasers. He needed to get his mind off things and drawing was one of the ways he knew how to relax. As he started drawing, Charm popped up from behind him.

"Hey, that's really good. How long have you been drawing?" she asked.

Glint paused for a moment. "From the time I could pick up a pencil," he replied.

"Cool." Charm replied. Suddenly, she got a look on her face as if she had just come up with a brilliant idea. "Hey, can you draw a zombie unicorn with a scroll at the bottom that says 'believe in yourself'?" she asked.

"Um... sure," Glint replied with a shrug as he turned his sketchbook to a blank page and began to draw the requested sketch. Once he had finished, he tore the page out and handed it to Charm. "Here you go."

"It's perfect!" Charm smiled at the picture. "Hey, Hex! Look what Glint drew for me! I think I'll make it a tattoo someday." Glint smiled slightly as the other Titans admired his sketch.

Inside Shimmer's office, Monumenta, Nyte Flyer, Gadget, Benny Various, and GaleXLy stood like statues as they waited for their orders.

"Glint wouldn't really betray us, would he?" GaleXLy asked Nyte Flyer. She had white hair, pale blue skin, black eyes with red pupils, black gloves and boots, and a blue uniform with a red arrow pointing upward. "I mean, he was our friend."

"I can't say for sure. However, the evidence doesn't look good," Nyte Flyer replied gravely.

"And y'all thought I was trouble," muttered Benny.

Suddenly, Shimmer walked into the room and sat at her desk. "As you are aware, my son, your teammate, Glint has gone missing. I need you to search for him and report back to me as soon as you do so we can make our next move. You will use the back entrance. We need to prepare for any... unwelcome visitors. Whatever you do, **don't** get caught and **don't** engage with Glint until I tell you to. Understood?"

"Yes, Ma'am!" the group replied in unison.

"Very good. You're dismissed," said Shimmer.

Over the course of a week, Glint stayed with the Star City Titans while the Justice League investigated the location of the HIVE that Glint had given. However, when they managed to break through the wall that had sealed up the main entrance, they found the HIVE was long gone. All that was left was an empty, underground base. Everyone came to the conclusion that Glint's disappearance had spooked the HIVE into relocating.

"Great." Glint sighed in frustration. "They're still out there."

Hex put her hand on his shoulder. "It'll be okay. We'll find them."

Suddenly, the alarm went off. "Titans, trouble at the museum!" Phoenix called.

The team got there and saw a young man dressed in an all white burglar's outfit with a rope around his shoulder and a belt with devices. "Is it just me, or does this guy look familiar?" Megawatt asked. The robber in question turned around.

"Ah, ze Teen Titans. I was wondering what that odor was," the man sneered.

"You mean the smell of old cologne and mothballs?" Hex asked.

"We thought that was coming from you." Charm smirked.

"Insolent little…" the robber growled as he grabbed smoke bombs from his belt.

"Titans, go!" Phoenix shouted. The team ran towards the man as they dodged the smoke bombs or used their powers to counteract them. Once Phoenix got close enough, he pulled out a bo staff, but the robber blocked it with his grappling hook. "Who are you?" he asked as he tried to strike the man, but he used his grappling hook to counter it.

"I am Voleur Blanc!" he exclaimed, "son of Andre Le Blanc!"

"That's original," said Glint sarcastically.

Voleur Blance was about to throw some more smoke bombs when Glint used his powers to make them turn to mist. The thief stared in amazement at Glint. "Hold on a second, I know those powers. You must be Madam Shimmer's son! My father used to work with her back in his day. How's she doing by the way?"

"Sorry, we're not on speaking terms." said Glint.

Just then, the thief turned around just in enough time to see Phoenix's fist collide with his face. Within minutes, the police came in and took the unconscious Voleur Blanc away.

"Not too bad for your first fight," said Phoenix proudly. Glint smiled back.

The fourth of July came and there was an excited energy in the air as nightfall drew closer. Glint helped his teammates bring chairs and a barbecue to the roof of the Tower. "I can't believe you guys get to do this every year," he said to Hex as he turned to look at the city. "Look at this view! It's amazing."

Hex looked confused. "Did you never get to see the fireworks while growing up?"

Glint sighed. "No. I was always training or studying. It's like you said: it wasn't much of a life."

Hex smiled. "Well, now you get to enjoy them."

The team cooked their food and had a few laughs before they sat in their chairs and watched the fireworks start.

"Glint?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're on our team."

"Heh. Me too." Hex leaned over and kissed Glint on the cheek and he blushed.

In the distance, Gadget was flying through the air looking for Glint when she spotted him on the roof of the Tower. She pushed a button and a camera came out of her backpack as she started to take pictures. Once she was finished, she met back with her team.

"Did you find him?" Monumenta asked, desperate to know the truth of what had become of her cousin.

"Yeah. And it's not pretty," said Gadget as she showed them the photos she had taken.

"No, it can't be," Monumenta growled, torn between grief and rage.

"Come on, Monumenta. We need to report back to Shimmer," said Benny with a sad sigh.

At the new HIVE headquarters, workers bustled around as they worked on construction. In Shimmer's office, it took all of her energy to not throw the camera at a wall. "Thank you, Gadget. You're all dismissed until I have further instructions," she said through gritted teeth. Once the team left, she paced a bit, then grabbed Glint's communicator. She walked down the hallway and knocked on a door that had the name Gizmo on it. Once the door opened, she walked in and approached the short man sitting at a desk.

"So, Shimmer, what do you want?" Gizmo asked as he turned to look at her.

She pulled out Glint's communicator and handed it to Gizmo. "I need you to do something for me."

Three days passed after the Fourth of July celebration, and Glint was getting used to life as a Titan. The team had just finished training and Glint was playing a racing video game with Megawatt. Charm sat next to Megawatt while Hex sat next to Glint and Phoenix casually watched.

"Prepare to eat my dust!" Megawatt smirked as she button-mashed her controller.

"Haha, in your dreams!" Glint chuckled.

"Come on, Megawatt! You can beat him!" exclaimed Charm.

"You can do it!" exclaimed Hex.

With a smirk, Glint pressed a few buttons and he won the game.

"Woo! You did it!" Hex cheered as she hugged Glint.

Suddenly, an alarm went off.

"Titans, go!" shouted Phoenix.

The Titans found the trouble at the same bank Glint and his former team had tried to steal from and were shocked to find the same team robbing the bank again. "What?! Guys, what are you doing here?" Glint asked.

"Following your instructions," Monumenta said with a dark grin. "Gotta say, your plan worked out perfectly."

"What are you talking about?" Glint asked. The Titans turned to find Nyte Flyer and GaleXLy behind them.

Gadget pulled out Glint's old HIVE communicator and pushed a button. A recording of Glint's voice played on it. "Hey, guys. It's time we kicked things up a notch. I'm going to join the Titans as a spy. Give it a few days before you attack. Glint out!"

The Titans stared at Glint with anger. Hex looked at him with hurt eyes. "You were spying on us?!" exclaimed Megawatt as she charged her powers.

"No! They set me up! I didn't send that message!" Glint panicked.

"HIVE, eat 'em alive!" exclaimed Gadget.

"Titans, go!" exclaimed Phoenix.

Glint didn't have a chance to fight as Nyte Flyer swept in and engulfed him with his giant wings before he disappeared. GaleXLy grew ten feet tall and began to stomp around and swing her hands to knock the Titans down. Benny Various multiplied himself. Monumenta stomped the ground and shook the pavement. Gadget pulled out a remote and began to fight using her robotic spider legs. The Titans pulled out their weapons and summoned their powers to fight back.

While the HIVE kept the Titans occupied, Nyte Flyer teleported to the HIVE headquarters and dropped him on the floor of one of the training arenas. Glint looked up and saw his mother stand before him. She suddenly pulled out a taser gun and fired, shocking him with electricity before he fell to the ground.

"You may go, Nyte Flyer," said Shimmer, her cold eyes fixated on Glint as he twitched in pain. "Return to the team and head back to headquarters." Nyte Flyer nodded and teleported back to the fight. Once they were alone, Shimmer walked closer to her son. She dropped several photos on the ground in front of him, all taken by Gadget. The one that stuck out was of Hex kissing Glint's cheek. "So, how do you explain yourself?" she asked, her voice devoid of emotion.

Glint struggled as he forced himself up. With a deep breath, he smirked and looked up at his mother. "I'm a Teen Titan."

Shimmer gritted her teeth and kicked him in the gut as he coughed. "What did you tell them?" she demanded.

Glint huffed as he looked at her. "Everything I know. The old location, names, access codes, you name it. It won't be long until they find you."

Furious, Shimmer kicked him again. "You filthy little traitor! How could you do this to us?" she erupted. "The HIVE was your family." As he attempted to stand, she smacked him. "Your community!" She kicked him again. "How could you do this to us?"

Glint coughed. "All my life, you raised me to be your little soldier. To do everything you said no questions asked. And any time I did question you, there was hell to pay. I never got to relax with my friends except during meals, and that wasn't much. You never let me be myself! I barely got to spend time with my own brother who probably thinks I hate him because of you!"

Shimmer picked him up and threw him across the arena. He let out a groan. "I was preparing you for your future. A place of power and respect. What could the Titans possibly give you that we never could?!" she challenged.

He continued to cough. "F-Freedom. The ability to be my own person. Choose what I want to do with my life."

"Ungrateful little... you're just like your father!" she growled a she kicked him yet again. "He thought he was too good for the HIVE. He left us, left you, but I raised you… And I raised you better than this!" Glint tried to get up, but she pushed him down with her foot. "I guess I'll have to teach you a new lesson." She glanced at the picture of Hex kissing Glint's cheek. "Starting with your new little girlfriend."

Glint's eyes widened. "I won't let you lay a finger on her!" Glint yelled as he hit her in the knee. Shimmer's knee flinched at the action, but it didn't move as she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and threw him again against a wall.

She smirked as she walked towards him. "So, that's your weakness." Her face turned bitter. "I should have known."

He smirked back. "Yeah. She's the best thing that's happened to me."

"Idiot!" Shimmer cried. "You betrayed your family, your flesh and blood, for a girl!"

"What I don't get is," Glint snapped, as he knitted his brow, "is why you chose me, the son of a guy who rebelled against the HIVE and hurt you when you had Deathwish. And later Glimmer. Do they mean nothing to you?" Glint asked.

Shimmer slapped him. "You don't know the meaning of the word hurt! And as for your brother, he is an expendable soldier- a distraction for the enemy while we make our escape. He didn't have my powers. Glimmer, on the other hand, is still a child." She glared down at him. "You were my finest student." She punched him. "Such wasted potential." She kicked him again. "Queen Bee won't have any trouble deciding your fate." Shimmer picked him up so they were eye to eye. "Because as far as I'm concerned, you are not my son." She threw him to the ground and turned on her heel as she walked out of the room.

Glint could barely move as he watched his mother walk out the door. One eye had blackened and he hurt everywhere. However, he couldn't care less about how bad he hurt or what Queen Bee was going to do with him, he knew Hex was in danger now that Shimmer knew about their relationship.

Suddenly, the door slid open again. Glint expected it to be Shimmer, back with Queen Bee, but instead it was Deathwish.

"Wow. She really did a number on you, didn't she?" Deathwish sighed as he looked at his brother.

"What are you doing here?" Glint asked.

"I'm getting you out of here," said Deathwish. "Can you walk?"

"Why are you helping me?" Glint asked as he struggled to get up.

Deathwish picked up Glint and wrapped his arm around his shoulder. "Unlike Glimmer, I care what happens to you. Can you use your powers?" Glint nodded. "Then let's get out of here."

The two brothers made their way out of the room and into the hallways of the headquarters unaware that Glimmer had spotted them. She smiled deviously. They made their way to the garage where rows of stolen vehicles were parked. Deathwish grabbed a set of keys hanging on the wall and helped his brother into the car.

"Where to?" Deathwish asked once they were out of the garage.

"Star City Titans Tower," said Glint.

"Seriously? You want to go back after what just happened?" Deathwish asked. "They might not trust you and I won't be there to save you again if the HIVE captures you."

"It'll be okay. Just take me there," Glint said. He looked at his brother. "What about you?"

Deathwish shrugged. "I don't know. Wherever the wind takes me, I guess."

"Well, when you find that place, let me know how you're doing, okay?" Glint asked.

Deathwish looked at his brother and nodded. "I will."

At Star City Tower, the Titans were in the main room sulking when the alarm of a trespasser went off. When they went to the front to see who it was, they saw a beaten Glint barely standing.

"Glint! What happened?" Hex asked as she rushed to his side.

"My mom is what happened," Glint grunted.

"How do we know you're not lying?" Megawatt asked.

"Meg, I don't think he's lying," said Charm as she pointed to the taser burns on his arm.

"Let's get him inside and bandaged up," said Phoenix.

At the HIVE, Shimmer was in a rage as she paced her office. "How could **both** of them escape?" she turned to a guard as he cringed. "What do I pay you for?!" There was a knock on the door. "WHAT?!"

Glimmer slipped into the room, treading carefully. "Mother-"

"Not now, Glimmer." Shimmer groaned.

"Please, listen," Glimmer said calmly. "I know that you might think now's not a good time…"

"It isn't." Shimmer snapped.

"But maybe it's the best time," Glimmer continued. "With both my traitorous brothers on the run, you need someone to train under you. Someone you can depend on."

"And let me guess. You want to be my apprentice." Glimmer nodded, her eyes eager. Shimmer sighed. "Fine."

"Oh, thank you, Mother! You won't regret it!" Glimmer smiled sweetly. As she shut the door behind her, her smile turned sinister. "Finally!"

In the infirmary at the Star City Tower, Glint lay in a medical bed all bandaged up. The team stood around him as he told them the full story of what had happened. "She had be brought to the new headquarters and asked me why I betrayed them. I told her I became a Titan because it offered me freedom to live my own life, and you can see how well she took it. I'm lucky that my brother helped me escape and come back here."

"We're sorry we didn't believe you." said Hex as she cupped his hand.

Glint gave her a half smile. "Hey, I got back and you took me in. It's all good."

"We'll let you get some rest." said Phoenix.

"I'm going to stay a bit longer," Hex replied. Once the team left, she turned back to Glint. "Can I get you anything? Water? Something to eat?"

"I'm fine. Actually, there is one thing," he said.

"Name it." said Hex.

He reached up and kissed her on the lips before he flopped back down, too sore to sit up for long.

Hex leaned in. "Idiot. You could have just asked."

She kissed him again.

 **To be continued...**

A/N: Fun fact, Charm loves zombie unicorns. Jinx was a fan of unicorns, so it makes sense that her kids would like them too. Even if they are undead. Yeah, so Shimmer doesn't like it when her kids choose a different career path than what she set up for them. And yes, I'm totally playing with the idea that Voleur Blanc has no originality whatsoever.


	11. Chapter 10

A/N: I don't own Nightstar, Sammy, the Doom Patrol, Mento, Hybrid, or Touch-N-Go. I own everyone else. Enjoy!

Teen Titans: The Next Generation

Chapter Ten: When Trouble Comes to Town

With the information Glint provided on the HIVE, the Jump City Titans were much better equipped to fight their enemy. They knew most of the powers, names, and faces of the HIVE members and felt more confident as they patrolled the streets. If any of the HIVE were to walk the streets, the Titans could identify them and arrest them. The former Titans agreed to allow their children to stay at the Tower during the summer to ensure they got notifications of when crimes were taking place.

The new heroes were patrolling the city when they heard a motorcycle as loud as thunder roll through the streets. "Well, someone's trying to show off!" shouted Burrower as he cupped his hands over his ears.

Riding on a motorcycle that looked like it belonged in a motorcycle gang was an older teen with grey skin, black hair, red eyes, and barbed wire tattoos all along his arms. He wore a biker's jacket, pants, and boots. On the seat behind him, clinging to him to ensure she didn't fall off, was a teenaged girl with a helmet on. They came to the pizza shop where they pulled over.

"All right. Here we are. How's about a kiss for Donny Rancid?" he asked.

The girl shoved her hand into his face. "Let's not and say we didn't." she said. "And I wouldn't use the name "Rancid" if I were you."

"Hey, I drove you all the way over here. A little gratitude would be nice," the older teen snapped.

The girl took a twenty out of her wallet and handed it to him. "Here." The boy begrudgingly took it. She snapped off the helmet and handed it back to him.

"Thanks," he muttered before he rode off again, his motorcycle roaring through the streets.

Once he was out of view, the girl dusted herself off and ran her fingers through her hair. The girl had short, black hair and blue eyes. She wore a black, sleeveless leotard with black boots and gloves that had light-golden trim, and a light-golden scarf and waist wrap. After browsing the nearby shops for an hour, she spotted the Titans enter the pizza shop.

At their favorite spot, the team conversed over their pizzas. "Did any of you guys know Glint's name was Gunther?" Beast Girl asked. "I kind of feel bad for him."

"I think it's a cool name," smiled Channeler as she sprinkled pepper flakes onto her pizza. "Like an animal sidekick or something."

"And of course that would be your main criteria for cool names," said Falcon in a deadpan voice.

Just then, the older girl approached the team. "Hey there, kiddos. Give your 'auntie' Touch-N-Go a hug," she said with a grin.

"Touch-N-Go?" Burrower said with a mixed look of happiness and disbelief. "What are you doing in Jump City?"

"I heard you kids started your own team and I thought I'd check in on ya and see how you were doing."

"Burrower, who is this?" Hallie asked.

"Oh, this is Touch-N-Go, one of our grandpa Mento's former apprentices," said Burrower.

"So how is the old timer?" Touch-N-Go asked. "Still grumpy as ever?"

"You know our grandpa," said Beast Girl with a shrug.

Touch-N-Go talked with the Titans until they finished their food and asked if she could see the Tower. Eager to show off their new hero status, the team agreed. Once at the Tower, Touch-n-Go marveled at the interior.

"Nice digs, kids!" she said with an approving nod. Suddenly, she noticed Snicker-Doodle cowering behind Hallie. "Oh, I see you have a little alien pet," she said.

"Come on, go say hi," said Hallie as she put Snicker-Doodle on the floor.

"Actually, Hallie made it!" Channeler said matter-of-factly. "She was working on a magic trick and accidentally created a mockery of Darwinian evolution when she pulled this cutie out of her hat."

"I think you should leave that story to me next time," Hallie said.

"Hey there, little guy," Touch-N-Go smiled as she offered her hand for it to smell. Snicker-Doodle sniffed her with its trunk and growled as it backed away.

"Snicker-Doodle, what's wrong?" Hallie asked with concern as she picked it up. "You never growl."

Suddenly, the Titans' communicators went off. Nightstar opened hers and read the report. "Apparently there's a couple in a hot rod car speeding around the city," said Nightstar.

"Isn't that the police's job?" Hallie asked, annoyed.

"It would be if the hot rod didn't have front-mounted snapping jaws, liquid nitrogen sprayers, and spherical grenades." said Nightstar.

"Are any of those even legal?" Channeler asked.

"Not at all," said Nightstar. "Titans, go!"

The team started to head for the door before they looked at Touch-N-Go. "You kids run along and go be heroes," she said. "I'm going to watch some TV and figure out why Cookie over here doesn't like me." Snicker-Doodle growled slightly.

Meanwhile, in the city, the couple in the hot rod car were speeding through the streets with the police in hot pursuit. The man, who was driving, had slicked-back, black hair and brown eyes behind tinted glasses. He wore a greaser's jacket, a white T-shirt, dark blue jeans, and converse. The woman had wavy, black hair, and blue eyes behind red, cat-eye, tinted glasses. She wore a red scarf around her neck, red lipstick, a white bustier top, tight, black pants, black high heels, and a tattoo on her right shoulder of a heart with the word "Daddy" on it.

"Woo-hoo, nothing like a moonlight cruise, huh, sugar?" the woman asked as she wrapped an arm around her partner.

"It'd be even better if those dang cops would leave us alone," the man grumbled as he made a hard left turn to try to shake them off.

The woman looked at the cops from her passenger mirror and pouted. "Maybe we should call it a night," she said. "We don't want to miss tucking Sammy Jr. into bed."

Suddenly, Falcon appeared using his dark energy which made the man slam on the breaks. "Your fun is over." The rest of the team came up from behind him while the police were catching up.

"Aww, come on, kid!" the man whined. "We were just having a little drive."

"We have a kid at home," the woman insisted. "You can't throw his parents in jail! Who's going to look after him?"

"I have an idea," said Falcon. He used his energy to pick the couple up out of their seats, set them on the ground, and absorb the car. "Consider your car impounded."

"No! That's my daddy's car!" exclaimed the woman.

"That thing? Where do you even get a car like that?! Aside from a TV show," said Channeler.

"My daddy was Ding Dong Daddy!" the woman snapped. "You're messing with Ding Dong Dolly now!"

"Please change your name," said Falcon.

"Either walk home or go to jail. Your choice," said Nightstar with her arms folded.

Dolly shrieked in anger. "Fine! Come on, Sammy!"

While the Titans were dealing with Sammy and Ding Dong Dolly, Snicker-Doodle watched as Touch-N-Go walked up to the computer and began to type. Once some screens with information appeared, she plugged in a USB drive. Growling, Snicker-Doodle snuck up on Touch-N-Go and grabbed her by the leg with its mouth, trunk, and front legs.

"Gah! Get off me, you little freak!" Touch-N-Go snapped as she violently shook her leg to break free. Once she broke free, she typed some more and watched as the computer showed a loading screen. Snicker-Doodle roared like a tiger and grabbed her from behind. "Will you just get off!" She grabbed Snicker-Doodle and threw it against the wall and it landed with a thud. Touch-N-Go unplugged the drive and was about to shut down the computer when The Titans entered the main room. She turned to face them and tried to cover up the screens.

Before she could say anything, Snicker-Doodle flew into Hallie's arms and chirped as if in fear or pain. "Woah, what's wrong, baby?" she asked in concern.

"Your "pet" bit me!" Touch-N-Go snapped. She walked up to Hallie and pointed her finger aggressively at her. "Learn to teach that thing some manners. And make sure it gets a rabies shot! I'm out of here!" She was about to leave when the Titans stopped her.

"Woah, Touch-N-Go, what happened?" Burrower asked. Nightstar noticed the computer was on.

"Yeah, Snicker-Doodle never bites people," said Channeler. "Not even when we give it a bath."

"Touch-N-Go, were you using the computer? You said you were going to watch television, but that's not the television. We had everything off when we left," said Nightstar.

"Your little "pet" turned it on," she replied in an annoyed tone. "Little brat jumped onto the computer. I was trying to get it off, but it bit me when I tried to pick it up!"

"Show us where you got bit," said Beast Girl, trying to stay calm. "We should make sure there's no open wounds.

Snicker-Doodle growled and flew out of Hallie's arms and grabbed Touch-N-Go's hand that was holding the drive. "Snicker-Doodle, what are you doing?!" Hallie asked.

Touch-N-Go accidently dropped the USB drive. Nightstar grabbed it before Touch-N-Go had the chance. "What is this?" she asked in suspicion.

Knowing she had been caught, Touch-N-Go glared at the Titans. "Sorry, kids, but I have a job to do," she replied. Quickly, she grabbed Nightstar's arm and drained her energy which caused the leader to faint. Once she had the drive, she was face to face with the other Titans ready to use their powers.

"Touch-N-Go, what's on the drive?" Burrower asked.

"None of your business!" she snapped. "Now get out of my way before I drain all of you."

"Why are you doing this?" Beast Girl asked, clearly hurt. "You were like family."

"I was never part of your stupid family!" Touch-N-Go snapped. "And I never should have worked under Mento. The sour old man was always too hard to please. We never did anything right. You have powers. Didn't you ever stop to think that maybe instead of helping this city of ungrateful idiots, you could stand above them?"

"No. We're Teen Titans. We protect this city," said Falcon darkly. "Now hand over the drive."

Faster than they could say "Touch-N-Go", the older teen touched each of them, draining their energy just long enough to escape. "See you later, losers," she waved before the elevator closed.

Once the Titans regained their strength, Beast Girl and Burrower went out to look for her while Nightstar and Falcon checked the computer. Hallie and Channeler comforted Snicker-Doodle. When Burrower and Beast Girl came back empty handed, Nightstar told them what she had found.

"She had several searches up. One was for something called Hybrid. It looks like she was checking to see who was on our criminal database."

"Guess it's time to add her to the list," Burrower growled.

"We'd better call Grandpa Mento and let him know what happened," said Beast Girl.

The next morning, the Titans called Mento and Elastigirl and told them what had transpired.

"At least you're all alright," said Elastigirl.

"So what is this "Hybrid", Grandpa Mento?" asked Burrower.

Mento let out a sigh. "It's the name I gave the team when they were working under me," said Mento. "After the Mega-Security Prison was put into construction, I decided to look for kids who had abilities but weren't using them for good. I didn't want to see any of them go to prison for the rest of their lives all because they made bad choices. As you know, Touch-N-Go was one of the kids I trained. After a while, they started questioning why they had to obey the law seeing as how they had powers and how life wasn't so kind to them before they got them. So they left me and formed a new group. I've tried to keep it from you kids so you wouldn't have to worry especially with the HIVE showing its face again. I realize now that that was a mistake."

"Don't worry, sir. We'll have every Titan on the lookout for Touch-N-Go and her team," said Nightstar.

Mento nodded. "I'm sure you'll find her. I know I don't say this often, but I'm proud of you kids."

"Oh my gosh, bro, Grandpa's proud of us!" Beast Girl said in fake shock. "Quick, Falcon, check to see if the underworld froze over!" Falcon smacked her with his energy.

In his mind, that was an appropriate response for someone casually telling him to go to hell.

To be continued

A/N: So in case you missed it, the guy with the motorcycle is the son of Johnny Rancid. Ding Dong Dolly is Ding Dong Daddy's daughter and Sammy is that younger kid who hung out with Cash, the two greasers who stole Cyborg's car. Hybrid is a group from the comics and Touch-N-Go was a part of it, but in the comics, most of the Doom Patrol members die and Mento is left an insane wreck. He forms Hybrid with kids who were in weird accidents, he injects them with Promethium to give them powers, and try to kill the Teen Titans. In this version, he tried to mentor kids with powers who had rough childhoods and were committing crimes. He saw the prison as a sign that the justice system would be less forgiving on those who commit crimes with superpowers and wanted to keep some of those kids from going to jail. Obviously that didn't work out so well. Special thanks to my husband for adding in the extra funny dialogue.


End file.
